LegacyTec seeks to make QR codes on graves obsolete

Last September I announced a story about QR (Quick Response) codes being added to gravestones by a funeral directors firm in Dorset (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/qr-codes-on-dorset-gravestones.html). A QR code is like a bar code that you can scan with a mobile phone or tablet, which when used in this case leads to a web page that can tell you more about the person who has passed away. It was a development on something that has been happening for a while in the United States.

In my blog piece I noted that whilst it was interesting, I had reservations about the long term use of such codes - "I must admit that I'm a tad sceptical - not necessarily on the concept of interactivity with a gravestone, but just that I suspect that QR codes will likely be replaced by something else in a few years, the way that technology is moving these days, and that the sites that they steer you towards have no guarantee of perpetuity."  It looks like this is now beginning to happen.

A news story on the Utah based station KSL notes that a company there is already looking to go beyond QR codes, with an app that allows you to learn about those buried in a grave simply by photographing the grave. The partners behind the innovation, called LegacyTec, are BillionGraves, My Legacy Memorial and Otter Creek Holdings. The following is a short video demonstrating the process:

The KSL story is at www.ksl.com/?nid=968&sid=24018150 whilst BillionGraves has a blog piece about it at http://blog.billiongraves.com/2013/02/otter-creek-holdings-announces-groundbreaking-technology-legacytec/.

Again, it's a fascinating idea - but as before, I wonder how long this one will last...?!

Chris

Pre-order my new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, through Pen and Sword (30 April 2013), or purchase early at Who Do You Think You Are Live 2013 in London. For my other genealogy books, please visit  http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html; whilst for my online Scottish based genealogy courses please visit the Pharos Teaching and Tutoring Ltd site.