This article was originally published on Cache Up NB. It has been mirrored here for archive purposes only.
QR Code for Through The Airwaves
As mentioned previously here, a new type of treasure hunting game using smartphones has emerged: Munzee’s. Using a smartphone such as a Blackberry, iPhone or Android device, users can seek out a Munzee which is nothing more than a QR code bar code that you scan using the Munzee app. This then logs that Munzee as found on your account. No physical container, just the bar code.
It got me to thinking about how this could be combined with geocaching. One idea that sprang to mind is the ability to include QR codes in your existing caches that when scanned, take you to the log page for that specific cache.
If you have a smart phone, scan the QR code found on this news item and you’ll see that it automatically brings you to the “Log” page for my Through The Airwaves cache. You then only need to fill in the type of log, and the log itself, and submit it and it is now logged. If this barcode was actually included in the physical geocache, when a finder opened the container, they could scan the barcode and do their log right there.
It’s obviously not something everyone would do, but it is an interesting way to incorporate some of this newer technology into our existing caches. In moving forward, I may actually include QR codes with the log URL for my caches. If I could figure out a way to pre-populate the actual log information, I’d include something like “Quick logged using the QR code found in the container. TFTC”, then I’d know if they actually got used by anyone.
Not something for everyone, but definitely an interesting way to add another layer to our caches.
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