Animation and coding project #3
Over the Easter break, I wanted to still experiment with 3D modelling but to create something relevant to the project objective. Therefore, I looked back at the GCSE Biology specification to see what I could do a 3D model of. To my surprise, the first topic that the specification introduced was Cell structure which leads me to create a 3D model of an animal cell (pictured below this text is what I had made so far). But, before proceeding with the idea I looked into QR codes.
QR codes i.e. quick response codes are a development of barcodes storing a larger amount of data. When the graphic label is scanned with a camera of a QR reader (App)’ it then decodes the code and reads the underlying information. Apps can process the information further based on the usage’ (Deepak Chauhan article, 2016). Invented by the Japanese company DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED in 1960s, who were at the time developing barcodes. Masahiro Hara, in charge of the development of the QR Code, wanted to invent another 2D code with the capability of storing even more data. The design of the QR code was developed like this:
‘According to Hara this was because “it was the pattern least likely to appear on various business forms and the like. If a position detection pattern is used in a code and there is a similar-looking mark nearby, the code reader may mistake it for the position detection patterns. To avoid this type of erroneous reading, their position detection patterns had to be truly unique. After mulling over this problem thoroughly, they decided to do an exhaustive survey of the ratio of white to black areas in pictures and symbols printed on fliers, magazines, cardboard boxes and so on after reducing them to patterns with black and white areas. They continued the task of surveying innumerable examples of printed matter all day long for days on end. Eventually, they came up with the least used ratio of black and white areas on printed matter. This ratio was 1:1:3:1:1. This was how the widths of the black and white areas in the position detection patterns were decided upon. In this way, a contrivance was created through which the orientation of their code could be determined regardless of the angle of scanning, which could be any angle out of 360°, by searching for this unique ratio. ‘(DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED, 2015)
By 1994, QR code was made available and was widely used across Japan then the whole world years after.
References:
Deepak Chauhan (2016) ‘What is QR code or Quick Response Barcode?’ Vocso. 14 July. Available at: https://www.vocso.com/blog/what-is-qr-code-or-quick-response-barcode/
DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED (2015) History of QR code. Available at: http://www.qrcode.com/en/history/
After reading about QR codes and how businesses have used them. For example, Whatsapp creating QR codes so people could access their accounts on the web not only on the App and how advertising companies have included them onto billboards, newspapers and magazines. It made me think about how QR codes could be included in a specification. I came up with the idea of having a QR code per page of the specification showing a 3D model of the topics presented on the page such as an Animal cell when scanned. Resulting, in the student interacting more with the specification and gain a better understanding as well as a perspective of the subject matter they’re learning about. In doing some research into this I came across a German company that had already come up with a concept of 3D QR codes called 3DQR. However, with the time frame, this project would have taken longer than we had accepted so we didn’t proceed with the idea. Not only this but we couldn’t add small organelles such as the mitochondria with it’s finer details netiher export it in colour.