Brazil Builds Bar Codes Into Sidewalks To Help Visitors Get More Info
Brazil is incorporating technology into its tradition, in order to provide tourists with the opportunity to learn information about the city.
They are doing this in Rio de Janeiro, a city steeped in tradition. The first two-dimensional bar codes, also called QR codes, were installed at Arpoador on Friday.
Arpoador is a massive boulder that rises at the end of the city’s Ipanema beach. The image was built into black and white stones that mimic the ones already decorating sidewalks around town.
Fox News reports that the launch attracted several onlookers. They downloaded an application on their smartphones and tablets before reading the bar code. They also took pictures of the new icon, which joins mosaics of waves, fish, and other abstract art.
The code sends the reader to a web site that gives them information in Portugese, Spanish, and English. It also gives them a map of the area.
According to Yahoo! News, the city is planning on installing 30 QR codes at beaches, vistas, and historic sites around Rio de Janeiro. Marcos Correa Bento, the head of the city’s conservation and public works, stated:
“If you add the number of Brazillian tourists, this tool has a great potential to be useful.”
Rio gets about two million foreign visitors each year. Raul Oliveira Neto, 24, who was visiting from Porto Alegre, was one of the first to use the barcode with his device. He stated, “We use so much technology to pass information, this makes sense. It’s the way we do things nowadays.”
Neto added that he has seen several other QR codes on tourist sites in Portugal. Locals like Diego Fortunato, 25, also approved of the new bar codes. He used the app, then explained:
“Look, there’s a map; it even shows you where we are. Rio doesn’t always have information for those who don’t know the city. It’s something the city needs, that it’s been lacking.”
What do you think of Brazil’s new bar codes in its sidewalks?
http://youtu.be/At13o0ECYRE
[Image via ShutterStock]
