Rio de Janeiro Mixing Technology with Tradition

Rio de Janeiro is providing tourist information about the city by embedding new bar codes into the black and white mosaic sidewalks that are a symbol of the city. The first two-dimensional bar codes, or QR codes, as they're known, were installed Friday at Arpoador, a massive boulder that rises at the end of Ipanema beach.

The image was built into the sidewalk with the same black and white stones that decorate sidewalks around town with mosaics of waves, fish and abstract images. When these QR codes are scanned by smart phone or tablet users, it redirects them to a website that is available in English, Portuguese, and Spanish. The website provides users with a map of the area in addition to interesting and useful information. The city plans to install 30 of these QR codes at beaches, vistas, and historic sites, so Rio's approximately 2 million foreign visitors can learn about the city as they walk around!

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