Utility of QR codes in biological collections

By

Diazgranados, Mauricio
Funk, V. A. (Vicki Ann), 1947-

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2013

Original Publication

PhytoKeys

Volume

25

Pages

21-34

Subjects

Barcode , catalogue , collection , database , hard-linking , matrix code , Museum , QR code

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers [2010]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.25.5175

 

Abstract

The popularity of QR codes for encoding information such as URIs has increased exponentially in step with the technological advances and availability of smartphones, digital tablets, and other electronic devices. We propose using QR codes on specimens in biological collections to facilitate linking vouchers’ electronic information with their associated collections. QR codes can efficiently provide such links for connecting collections, photographs, maps, ecosystem notes, citations, and even GenBank sequences. QR codes have numerous advantages over barcodes, including their small size, superior security mechanisms, increased complexity and quantity of information, and low implementation cost. The scope of this paper is to initiate an academic discussion about using QR codes on specimens in biological collections.