
Rooftop QR Codes Aim to Infiltrate Google Earth - LiveTheDream
http://mashable.com/2011/10/05/rooftop-qr-codes-google-maps/
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timmaah
Why a QR code and not a big freaking advertising banner?

If it is because there are regulations against advertising.. the QR code is
still an advertisement, so that shouldn't be a loophole.

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inshane
I own a company that does this, and most advertisers do prefer to put an ad
image instead of a QR code. We focus primarily on sites near flight paths at
major airports and the Google Earth/Maps aspect is more of just an added bonus
for us so there is some difference in target audience but our clients
resoundingly prefer actual ads to QR codes. We've tried selling the idea of
rooftop QR codes because they are so much easier to paint than e.g. a
photorealistic person who is 250ft tall but haven't had any interest from
clients so far.

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qdot76367
We used to have this happen all of the time in Second Life. People would throw
objects either on roofs, or high up into the sky, which when rendered and seen
on the overhead world map, would spell out advertisements for whatever was on
that region. Worked surprisingly well for catching the eye.

[http://www.secretlair.com/index.php?/clickableculture/entry/...](http://www.secretlair.com/index.php?/clickableculture/entry/birds_eye_view_advertising_in_second_life/)

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mirkules
Seems a little pricey. I'm not sure what dimensions would be visible from
space (if that image is any indication, you need about 20x20 feet?). How much
would it actually cost to print a weather-proof banner that size (and it
doesn't have to all be on one sheet) - my guess a lot less than $8,500 + $200
"support" fee (whatever that is).

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Semiapies
You'd need a fairly large ad to be visible in satellite imagery. I suspect
this service or anything like it would be a better bet in the higher-
resolution areas where Google uses aerial imagery.

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shabble
It's hard to find any concrete details on the resolutions used by GE, and it
varies massively by area. I recall their recent investment in one of the
(GeoEye?) satellites had a theoretical resolution of 40cm, but is restricted
by US regulations to provide a maximum (edit: minimum) pixel size of either 50
or 60cm.

Assuming 1m x 1m pixels, a standard[1] QR code could be fitted inside a 25x25m
square. You'd probably want to increase pixel size, and maybe use a smaller
version (along with a url shortener, if necessary) to increase the chances of
a successful decode.

Aircraft orthoimaging can work at _much_ higher resolutions. An article from
2005[2] shows pictures capable of distinguishing individual faces. I can only
assume things have since improved.

[1] of which there are many:
<https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/QR_code>

[2]
[http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2005/09/ultimate_goo...](http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2005/09/ultimate_google.html)

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ap22213
This is pretty cool. I hope someone develops a standard for this.

I imagine putting a QR code on my roof that points to a web service that could
be interrogated to obtain information about the physical location. Then,
processors could be built to automatically index geographical areas from
satellite data.

$8500 is really steep, though. What would be the minimum size of the artifact,
to reliably enable current satellite technology to read a URL-sized chuck of
information?

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LiveTheDream
QR codes are a standard[1] (otherwise they would just be meaningless random
dots in a square shape).

[1] <http://www.denso-wave.com/qrcode/qrstandard-e.html>

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wiredfool
DIY QrCode driveway: <http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericrice/5031494545/> But
google got to it before he was done.

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pavel_lishin
Has anyone here actually ever scanned-and-decoded a QR code?

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funkah
Hell no. Maybe it's childish, but I just assume every one of them is a Goatse
link. Probably at least 40% of them actually are.

While I was at SXSW this year, I realized how easy it would be to print up a
bunch of QR codes that point to whatever terrible thing you prefer, and then
paste them over the QR codes that are present on every single poster, sticker,
etc. The QR code itself has no visual indication of what it is or what it
links to, as opposed to a URL which does. Even if a URL shortener is used, the
people who make the shortener can block redirects to spammy or
offensive/illegal URLs.

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sp332
Why don't you look at the data in the QR code first? Most QR code readers show
you the URL and make you say "yeah, I want to go there".

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pavel_lishin
goo.gl/23nSX doesn't help much.

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sp332
True, but that's more a problem with URL shorteners than QR codes. Anyway most
shorteners you can append '+' to get info before visiting (inconvenient, I
know) <http://goo.gl/i3wBs+>

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pasbesoin
I assume these include the obligatory "Hello, World".

