Believing in a Faint Light: Obstacles QR Code developer overcame and the source of his idea.

─ First of all, what made you decide to become an engineer?

I have loved making things since I was a child. I was born in Tokyo, moved to Osaka when I was 2 years old due to my parents' job transfer, and returned to my birthplace, Tokyo, when I was in junior high school. People laughed when I spoke in the Osaka accent at school which made me dislike talking to people. So, I began to devote myself to making plastic models.

I especially enjoyed creating originality in camouflage paint when building plastic models of tanks, and I was happy to receive compliments from others on how well I did. I think that from that time on, I subconsciously aimed to be a unique "one and only".There were two things that moved me at the time.

─ What were they?

The first was the switch from black and white to color television. The second was the Apollo 11 moon landing. As a child, I realized that anything is possible if you have the right technology. Furthermore, my father was an engineer who had obtained a patent relating to the manufacture of electronic components, and this made me want to become a professional engineer as a familiar occupation.

─ Did you continue your studies after you had a clear vision of what you wanted to become?

Yes, I did. At university, I majored in electrical and electronic engineering at the faculty of engineering, where I studied analog circuits, which handle continuous signals such as voltage and radio waves. In high school, I had classes in Japanese and social studies, which I was not good at, but once I entered university, I only had to study the subjects I liked, and studying became more enjoyable. I became a "study bug" and sat at the front of the class every day.

─ Why did you join DENSO (at that time, NIPPON DENSO)?

The fact that it was a technology-oriented company appealed to me. While I was taking the entrance examinations of home appliance manufacturers at the same time, I joined NIPPON DENSO, which was the first company to offer me a position and was assigned to the research and development department for barcodes. Actually, in an interview with the personnel department regarding my assignment, I said that I wanted to be in charge of development other than cars. I am sure that at the time, many people wanted to do work related to cars, so probably this was unusual for them.

─ Can you tell us about a memorable event at the time of your assignment?

Early on in my assignment, my boss asked me if I could work in software. I replied, "I am a hardware designer, so I can't do software.” He told me in no uncertain terms, "In 10 years' time, we will be in the age of computers, and we won't need someone who can't do software.”

He was very strict. (laughs) But to be honest, I also thought that software might be necessary in the future. I was also interested in voice recognition and character recognition, which were being developed within the company. So, I diligently self-taught software in secret.

Then, my boss ordered me to develop a barcode reader for use at supermarket checkout counters in the future. I joined in the development, and the product was eventually used in convenience stores, factories, and a variety of other places. Looking back, I am grateful that I was able to work for a boss who knew what was coming.

─ How did the development of the QR Code begin?

The development of the QR Code began in 1992. With the bubble economy bursting and the future uncertain, there was an atmosphere within the company that we needed to do something new. At the same time, the automotive industry was shifting from mass production to high-mix low-volume production, and the shipping site of automotive parts started to handle a lot of information.

However, only about 20 characters of information is containable in a barcode. Employees on site had to work hard to read about 10 barcodes in a row for each product. It was more like a job to read the barcode than to make the product. This was not very efficient, and furthermore, if the barcodes were contaminated with oil, they would become unreadable, so we were asked to do something about it.

─ What was the most important thing you focused on during development?

The most important thing was to read large volumes of information quickly and accurately. At the time, similar research was underway in the U.S., and there was an opinion within the company that we might as well use that code. However, it seemed that the US was focused on the ability to include more information, and the accuracy was only about 1 out of 10 readings. If that was the case, I thought we should be able to compete even if we started development now. However, I only had 50% confidence that we would succeed.

─ What was the biggest obstacle?

We struggled to achieve the same reading speed as barcodes, because 2D codes are more complex than barcodes and handle a lot of information, so reading tends to be slower.

─ How did you overcome this problem?

That's where beer comes in (laughs).

──Beer!? No way!!

Yes. (laughs) I know it sounds like a joke, but it is true. What I want to tell you is that the main point is how to "relax."

At the time, I was told that ideas were more likely to come to mind when the brain was relaxed and producing alpha waves, so a colleague of mine lent me an alpha wave measuring device. I took it home and researched under what circumstances alpha waves are produced. When I took a bath, when I drank two glasses of beer, and when I saw greenery outdoors. ...... The one that produced the most was when I drank the right amount of beer. In my case, two glasses of beer!

Then. I had some beer on my day off, and as I was on the train looking out the window, I saw a building. I noticed that the upper floors of the building had a different arrangement of windows than the lower floors. That's when I got the idea that if there was a unique mark that said, “This is a QR Code," it could be read quickly.

─ That is the small squares (cut-out symbols) that are currently in the three corners of the QR Code?

Yes, that's right. we realized that adding a unique mark would be a good idea, but we were not sure what shape it should be. A complex shape would be easy to distinguish, but it would take time to read. So, we decided that what would allow us to process the data quickly would be a centralized ratio, like the width between bars, and we tried to determine the "golden ratio," a width ratio rarely found in the world.

From that point on, I spent my days researching the width ratios of every letter and character I came into contact with in my work and daily life. When I went to work, I would take pictures of newspapers and magazines, page by page, from morning to night. Before I went home after work, I would leave the ratio pattern measurement software running and checked the results the next morning. There was a time when I left my computer running 24 hours a day during the summer and it crashed, erasing all the data I had stored.

─ Wasn't it mentally tough to keep searching for the golden ratio?

I didn't even know if such a ratio existed, and I was doubtful every day. But my junior colleague, with whom I was working on development, and I talked about our dreams and overcame the difficulties. We thought, "It would be fun to have a new code spread around the world and be used by all kinds of people," and "We want to make people say, ‘This code is amazing.’”

At the time, I often heard people say, "No Japanese company, much less an automobile components manufacturer, can produce a world-class code," and I had the rebellious spirit of wanting to prove them wrong.

─ When did you see the light?

About six months after I started working on the project. I found the golden ratio of the width of black and white: 1:1:3:1:1. I was relieved to have found it. Without this ratio, there would have been no QR Code.

─ So, that is how QR Code was born into the world. But why did you release the QR Code patent?

No matter how good the code is, it cannot be used freely and safely unless the infrastructure, such as peripheral devices, is in place. That is why we decided to release the patent and encourage other companies to develop their own infrastructures to quickly popularize the QR code.

─ "Co-creation" that goes beyond the company boundaries is progressing in various industries nowadays, but you had the idea 30 years ago.

Sometimes it is necessary to be honest and ask for help from those around you. It is impossible to develop an application unless you know the job and the site well, isn't it? We thought it would be better to leave it to those who are familiar with it and support our customers through manufacturing, which is our specialty.

─ Once again, do you believe that release the patent was not a mistake?

I am 100% sure that it was not, because the QR Code has become so widely spread because of the participation and co-creation of various companies. Even now, the QR Code continues to evolve through co-creation among companies. It is the same in GO (Japanese board game), which I like, but if you are too greedy, you will lose. No matter what you do, give a little to your opponent and take a little more than they take. Perhaps such a way of thinking is good.

As an engineer, I think it is important that the technologies and products I develop are used by as many people as possible and are useful to society, and that gives me the greatest pleasure.

─ It has been 30 years since the birth of the QR Code. Have you ever imagined QR Code spreading this far?

I dreamed of the QR Code being used all over the world, but to be honest, I never imagined that they would become as widespread as they have. I had no idea that it would be used not only for business purposes, but that it would permeate the lives of normal people and even be used for payment. What surprised me the most was that it had reached as far as Africa, with QR Code being used for payment in Kenya and QR Code attached to bus stops.

What is good about QR Code is that anyone can create them freely. When we started development, IC cards were just beginning to appear, and people said, "If you make a QR Code now that would be printed on paper, wouldn’t they only last 10 to 20 years?”. But they are still being used today. Not everyone can make IC cards, can they? Recently, I often say that there is nothing more powerful than low-tech, and even though it is 30 years old, people are still using it because it is low-tech and people are used to it.

─Was the unique corporate culture and environment also a factor in the success of the development?

I am often asked why we were able to create the QR Code, and I believe it is because the "spirit to start new business" has been passed down from generation to generation among the employees of our company, which was spun off from Toyota Motor Corporation and inherited its blood. The forward-thinking boss I had when I first joined the company had the same spirit.

Another reason is probably because we have a factory on-site and were able to face the challenges of the QR Code getting dirty with oil and getting damaged. If I had been involved in code development at an IT company, I would not have successfully created the QR Code.

─ Mr. Hara, you have achieved remarkable success, but do you ever burn out?

I do not think so. Although, I have spent almost half of my life working with codes, I still love visiting and talking with customers on their sites. I receive a variety of requests and it brings me joy to solve them. I used to think I became an engineer because I did not like talking to people. (laughs)

─ What kind of requests have you received for code recently?

Since the Noto Peninsula Earthquake in January 2024 disabled the network, there has been a growing need to use QR Code as a medical database. For example, it would be convenient if QR Code could be used to quickly check a patient’s electronic medical record, electrocardiogram, etc., when a doctor urgently needs to respond to a person who has been brought in by ambulance or who has fallen ill at an evacuation center. In the future, we would be happy to make further use of the QR Code to help solve social issues, including those in the medical field.

─ Finally, do you have a message for young professionals, both inside and outside the company?

First of all, I would like you to cherish curiosity and inspiration in your daily life. Curiosity leads to new knowledge, inspiration leads to various experiences, and the fusion of these drives the creation of imagination. I believe that ideas are born more from daily life and hobbies than from working at a desk. When the brain is relaxed, good ideas are probably generated from past experiences.

And don't be afraid of failure. I have had many failures myself, but when you actually take action and fail, there are hints for the next step hidden in the failure. I would like to tell people that it is rather lucky to fail.

※ ※The contents presented in this article are as of May 2024.