Optical Engineers from the University of Connecticut in the U.S have discovered a way to display three-dimensional (3D) images by scanning a succession of Quick Response (QR) codes with a smartphone.

A QR code is a square-shaped machine readable label originally designed for the automotive industry in Japan. Nowadays, it's used to access certain websites using a smartphone's camera.

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Engineers said QR codes can be used to display 3D images by adding an array of tiny lenses to a smartphone, without any access to the internet.

"We have developed a method of using QR codes along with off-the-shelf mobile device technology such as smartphones to enable encrypted 3-D information to be securely displayed on mobile devices," said Bahram Javidi, the team's project leader.

"The QR codes we developed store compressed and encrypted images, which can be easily scanned, decrypted, and decompressed by commercial smartphones for secure 3-D visual communication."

QR codes typically hold links to stored data and allow users access to specific websites. The problem with the typical approach is websites may contain malicious code.

Javidi said they intend to store self-contained slices of data in the QR codes themselves, which will then allow users to retrieve 3D images without using the internet.

First, a 3D image (such a car or a house) is selected. It's then broken down into multiple 2D images taken from different angles. Each 2D image is called an "elemental image".

Each elemental image is later compressed, encrypted and stored as a QR code. To receive the complete 3D image, users can use any smartphone with a QR reader.

"No special QR code reader or technology is needed. However, we do not yet have an app to decrypt and decompress the image stored in the QR code, but it can be easily developed." Javidi added.

TagsQR Code, University of Connecticut, US, 3D Images, 2D images, Elemental Image, App, Mobile Device, Lens, Encrypt, Decrypt