A QR Code You Can Walk On

QR codes are just everywhere, from marketing materials, to the rooftops of Facebook’s headquarters, to t-shirts, bracelets and even food.

We have also seen these codes in a lot of difference sizes. From the smallest scannable codes at about one inch, to huge ones that are visible from satellites in space.

The City of Lisbon in Portugal has just scored a first in QR code history – fashioning a QR code out of cobblestones.

This is a QR code that you literally can walk on. The record setting QR code is found on Rua Garrett in Chiado, a plaza in Lisbon.

For those who are not familiar with a QR code, we admit that QR coded cobblestones would look like an irregular pattern. But those who do know what QR codes are, they can take out their smartphones and scan the code.

The QR code first welcomes them with a confirmation message telling scanners that they have just scanned the world’s first cobblestone QR codes and then takes them to a site that offers a lot of information about Chiado and nearby places, including tourist and shopping information, local culture, commerce and cuisine.

More than that, however, the QR code is made out of Portuguese cobblestones and has been created to expose both Portugal and Chiado to the rest of the world.

We certainly agree that this is one unique code and it serves a purpose of highlighting the area where it is found. But there are just some problems with the implementation that we are seeing.

For one, we do not think that the QR code would attract that much attention, seeing that it is set on the ground. Unless it has been advertised, tourists might not even notice it. For another, we think that it might be a little difficult to get a successful scan. You are going to work with a slanted QR code and you would not have an elevated platform that would allow you to get a clean scan of the code.