Rio de Janeiro’s Conservation and Public Works Department is in the process of embedding 30 site-specific Quick Response (QR) codes throughout the city’s black and white mosaic sidewalks. Yes, those pixelated, Space Invader-looking blocks will be, well, invading Rio’s historical attractions to give Rio’s tourism department an injection of technology. Portugal, Wales, Italy, and Colombia have had their own forays into QR code marketing linking tourists to information about the sites they’re visiting, but besides a quick bit of publicity, is there any worthwhile merit in this, the future of tourism?
I imagine a throng of upper-middle class Americans – you know, with enough time and money for leisurely trips to Brazil – with $500 gadgets aimed at the ground while beauty and history literally surround them. The most grateful beneficiaries in this situation are the pickpocketers sure to prowl around the symbols like hyenas at a watering hole. But let’s not get too cynical. Of course, having historical info and maps in three different languages at your fingertips is a useful resource for travelers. However, shouldn’t the Brazilian citizens want foreigners to actually experience their city first-hand rather than through a device? It provides one more excuse for people to stare at their smartphones instead of meeting a local, trying out a new language, or teaching someone else about one’s own culture.
On top of failing to be culturally relevant, those who insist on the merit of QR technology must concede that the codes are bulky and unattractive. Herein lies the most critical flaw of the campaign: the technology is not aesthetically efficient for its function – advertising, marketing, and attracting tourists. The monolithic squares lack integration. When seen on posters or other marketing media, the viewer is given the content, for instance an image or message, then the code itself; it is isolated and out of place. It’s one thing to print the codes cheaply on posters intended to last a few weeks. Embedding them in the sidewalks conflating tradition and technology, though?
Companies are making strides forward, looking for the next evolution of QR technology in smaller, more visually appealing, and adaptable formats to fit fluctuating needs. Wikitude, Aurasma, and blippAR are trying to do away with the squares altogether with Augmented Reality technology that recognizes actual images and locations rather than codes. It would appear the QR code is dead in the water, at least in its present form. The fact that companies are working on the next generation implies that Rio’s tourism ploy has an expiration date written in stone (literally). The resources used on this short-sighted campaign could have been allocated towards a true advancement that would last longer than a news cycle. Instead, Rio government laborers will be tearing up the sidewalks when the next wave of marketing technology hits the shore.
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