Semacode
Semacode was a software company based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada,[1] known for a product with the same trade name – machine-readable ISO/IEC 16022[2] Data Matrix barcodes, which are used to encode Internet URLs.
Semacodes were primarily aimed at being used with cellular phones which have built-in cameras, to quickly capture a Web site address for use in the phone's web browser. The system was created by Simon Woodside after he was thinking of a followup to the use of CueCat barcode scanners.[3] When it launched it operated only on Nokia camera phones that use the Symbian Series 60 operating system.[3]
The Semacode website states that Semacode tags are an "open system" and that tag creation is "completely unrestricted," with the SDK software tools being free of charge for non-commercial use.[4]
Suggestions for usage from the Semacode.org website[5] included 2007:
- placing Semacode tags on posters, such as those for concerts and public performances. Those interested could use their mobile phone to take a photo of the tag, which could link them directly to the web page where they could order tickets.
- using Semacode tags and mobile phones to enable multilingual museum exhibits—a tag photographed at the exhibition entrance could set a language cookie in the phone's web browser, and subsequent Semacode tags displayed at each exhibit could then link the phone's browser directly to a web page about the item, displayed in the user's language of choice.
- placing Semacode tags on name tags given to conference attendees. These tags could provide the corporate web address of each attendee's company, or their biography and contact details.
See also
[edit]
- QR Code an implementation of a similar concept invented in Japan.
- PDF417
- Object hyperlinking
- High Capacity Color Barcode
- SPARQCode
- Cauzin Softstrip an historical implementation of a similar concept introduced in the 1980s
References
[edit]- ^ Semacode: Company Information Archived 2009-04-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The first edition of iso-iec:16022 was 2000, replaced by 2006's second edition
- ^ a b Ulbrich, Chris. "Camera Phones Link World to Web". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ^ Semacode
- ^ semacode.org/apps/potential/ Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
External links
[edit]| Linear barcodes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Post office barcodes | ||
| 2D barcodes (stacked) | ||
| 2D barcodes (matrix) | ||
| Polar coordinate barcodes | ||
| Other | ||
| Technological issues | ||
| Other data tags | ||
| Related topics | ||
