• by David Spark , November 28, 2006

This Rorschach test won't reveal anything about you, but take a picture of it with your phone and it could reveal something about the company that placed it there. The Quick Response Code, or QR Code, behaves like a bar code when you use your camera phone like a scanner. Embedded software in the phone decodes the image and takes you to a Web site. A big deal in print and outdoor billboards in Japan, the technology has yet to take off in the U.S.

Technological complications mean it probably won't. So, U.S.-based Denso TD Scan and Denso Wave (the inventors of QR Codes) are pulling a reverse, turning QR Codes into a payment mechanism: A personalized QR Code image on wireless phones can be read by a convenience store scanner. TD Scan hopes that once consumers become comfortable purchasing goods with their phone, it will open the door for mobile couponing.