Masahiro Hara Explained

Masahiro Hara
Native Name Lang:ja
Birth Date:1957
Birth Place:Tokyo
Nationality:Japanese
Alma Mater:Hosei University
Known For:Inventing the QR code
Awards:European Inventor Award

Masahiro Hara (Japanese: 原 昌宏, Hepburn:, born 1957) is a Japanese engineer and Hosei University graduate who is best known for inventing the QR code in 1994.[1]

Early life and education

Hara was born in Tokyo in 1957.[2] He studied in the department of electric and electronic engineering at Hosei University.[3] He graduated in 1980.[4]

Career

Denso and QR code invention

After graduating from Hosei University, Hara was working at the Japanese company Denso, which is a subsidiary of the Toyota Group. From then on, Hara started working to develop a barcode system. In 1992, in Denso's developing department (later Denso Wave), Hara had been given a task to develop a new 2D code system that is capable of productively tracking components used in the automotive industry, thus started a new project.[5] [6] [7] [8] One day at work, over a lunchtime game of go, he recognized the game's black and white pattern could be used to encode information.[9] He also made an investigation on publications to seek a unique proportion for the position pattern to make sure that readers could be able to identify.[10] The code was introduced in 1994.[11]

In 2021, QR codes were being used to book and track COVID-19 tests and contact tracing. Hara has stated that he would like to develop QR codes for additional medical purposes, including imaging such as x-rays or electrocardiogram data. Hara still works for Denso as of 2022.[12]

Japan International Cooperation Agency

Hara was the chief engineer and advisor for a Japan International Cooperation Agency's "School For All" program to improve education in Niger.[13] [14]

Selected publications

Awards

In 2014, he and the inventors of the QR code development team were awarded the European Inventor Award.[17]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. News: Oba . Yumi . 'Father of QR code' says the technology's future is in storing important medical information . 2 February 2022 . SBS Japanese . 19 November 2021.
  2. Web site: TEDxAnjo TED . 2022-04-10 . www.ted.com.
  3. Hara . Masahiro . Development and popularization of QR code: —Code development pursuing reading performance and market forming by open strategy— . Synthesiology English Edition . 2019 . 12 . 1 . 19–28 . 10.5571/syntheng.12.1_19 . 203138539. free .
  4. Web site: Members of Faculty Pamphlet . Hosei University . Cover page . "Hosei Alumnus, Masahire Hara invented QR code (1994) Denso Cp. Ltd. Graduated from Hosei University in 1980.
  5. News: Gapper . John . 2020-10-30 . Ant and Covid have made the humble QR code a hit . Financial Times . 2022-01-30.
  6. Web site: The Little-Known Story of the Birth of the QR Code . nippon.com . en . 2020-02-10.
  7. Book: Boulton . Jim . The QR Code . 100 Ideas that Changed the Web . 2014 . Quercus Publishing . 978-1-78067-642-5 . This all changed in the early '90s at Denso Wave, a subsidiary of Toyota. An engineer called Masahiro Hara was tasked with creating a barcode that could hold more information than the existing format. His solution was the Quick Response (QR) code....
  8. . Dobrescu . Andra . Implications of QR Codes for the Business Environment . Calitatea . 16 . S3 . July 2015 . 166–169.
  9. Web site: 'I'm pleased it is being used for people's safety': QR code inventor relishes its role in tackling Covid . the Guardian . en . 2020-12-11.
  10. Web site: History of QR Code. 2023-04-30. Denso Wave.
  11. Web site: Goodrich . Joanna . How a Board Game and Skyscrapers Inspired the Development of the QR Code . IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News . 13 November 2020 . en.
  12. Web site: 2022-01-24 . Meet the Man Who Invented The QR Code . 2022-01-30 . Worldcrunch . en.
  13. Book: Kharas . Homi J. . Linn . Johannes F. . Getting to Scale: How to Bring Development Solutions to Millions of Poor People . 2013 . Brookings Institution Press . 978-0-8157-2419-3 . 296, 300.
  14. JICA Experts, Back in Japan, Are Granted an Audience with Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Akishino, Princess Mako and Princess Kako . Japan International Cooperation Agency . 1 October 2018.
  15. Web site: Community Participation with Schools in Developing Countries: Towards Equitable and Inclusive Basic Education for All . 2022-03-20 . Routledge & CRC Press . en.
  16. Maruyama . Takao . Kurosaki . Takashi . Do remedial activities using math workbooks improve student learning? Empirical evidence from scaled-up interventions in Niger . World Development . December 2021 . 148 . 105659 . 10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105659 . 239705164. free .
  17. Web site: Office . European Patent . Masahiro Hara, Motoaki Watabe, Tadao Nojiri, Takayuki Nagaya, Yuji Uchiyama (Japan) . www.epo.org . en.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Masahiro Hara".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.