RIO DE JANEIRO—As Rio de Janeiro, Brazil prepares to host the 2016 Olympics, the city has launched an innovated approach to help tourists get the most out of their visit: QR code mosaics in the sidewalks at important city sites.
The first of these codes was unveiled at Arpoador Beach at sunset on January 25. The code combines tradition and technology: sidewalks are traditionally made of Portuguese rock, and the first QR codes are designed out of these rocks.
Simply by pointing their smartphones or tablets at the pattern, visitors can instantly learn location-specific information, such as history, photos, tips, and curious facts. By the end of the year, a total of 30 tourist attractions in Rio will have the codes.
“It is a legacy to the city, not only for tourists, who can understand a little about the monuments of the city, but also for the carioca [Rio citizen] himself, who sometimes does not know the history of that site and ends up learning it right there, very fast,” said Fabricia Rosa of public relations agency Grupo Máquina, a private partner in the project. She added, “With the new technology, which is very democratic nowadays, everyone has access.”
The QRio Project is the result of a public–private partnership between the Secretariat of Municipal Conservation and Public Services, and communications and technology companies that are members of Grupo Máquina.
