Tag: smartphone barcodes

The smartphone friendly barcodes are a vital element of a new German joint venture.

According to the latest announcement from the Hubject GmbH joint venture participants among German auto manufacturers, being able to access any electric car charging station across Europe could require nothing more than the scanning of QR codes.

The new “eRoaming” platform was unveiled in Berlin at a conference that could change the electric car ecosystem.

This platform will make it possible for electric car owners to use QR codes to be able to charge their vehicles at any European station as long as they have their smartphones handy. The joint venture company, Hubject GmbH, comes with the tagline “Charge wherever you like” and this new smartphone friendly barcode will make the group even more capable of living up to its words.

The QR codes will allow it to come closer to its vision of making all charging stations accessible.

The group spoke at the International Emobility Conference that was held in Germany and explained that the QR codes allow the owners of electric cars to charge their vehicles at any stations without having to obtain a membership with that specific station’s owner.

In both the United States and Europe, a charging station network owns the majority of charging stations, and access is limited to individuals who have a membership with that network. There are times that electric vehicle owners will head into a charging station in dire need of recharging, but cannot do so because of the limited access that those networks provide.

It is a dilemma that is being compared to that in the 1990s, when cell phone users had specific roaming agreements and could find that their service was either unavailable or was exceptionally expensive if users travelled outside their designated service area. The same idea is now being experienced by electric car owners who now have “roaming” style access to charging stations.

With the QR codes, any of the stations in Europe will become available to all electric vehicle drivers. It is expected that it won’t be long before a similar type of joint venture develops in the United States and other countries where electric vehicles are growing in popularity.

Scanning the barcodes provides the device users with specific information about the unique piece.

The International Gemological Institute (IGI) has just revealed that it will be providing QR codes, from now on, for each piece of jewelry that it certifies, so that the barcodes can be scanned.

When the barcode is read by a smartphone, the device users will also be able to view the IGI report on the piece.

The QR codes are intended to be helpful on a number of levels. The IGI is hoping that sales associates will be able to scan them in order to be able to obtain relevant gemological grading information that they can then communicate to potential customers. They share data about the color, cut, carat, and clarity (often referred to as the 4 C’s), and can also be used to authenticate precious metals.

The QR codes will also be helpful to customers who can verify the quality and claims veracity of an item.

The IGI will now be assigning a QR code with the issuance of each IGI Seal of Inspection/Standard of Excellence, as a step in the certification process. Each article will be affixed with its relevant barcode. Just as has previously been the case, it will still be possible to obtain hard copy reports on any jewelry that has been certified by the organization. These barcodes will simply provide an immediate link to the information that can be accessed wherever the device user may be.

According to Jerry Ehrenwald, the president and CEO of the IGI, “We are eager to bring additional benefit to both retailers and consumers by offering a real-time way to access a unique IGI report, as this is a crucial step in the fine jewelry buying process.”

The QR codes were first demonstrated by the IGI at the JCK Las Vegas Show, at the organization’s booth. An appointment had to be scheduled in order to be able to see the demo. The organization was first established in 1975 in Antwerp. It is now the largest independent certification institute worldwide. It has offices in major cities all across the globe.