QR codes were first created in 1994 by Denso Wave to track vehicle parts during manufacturing. While initially used for logistics and production tracking, QR codes are now commonly used for mobile ticketing and marketing to provide extra information to viewers. However, QR codes often fail because the content is not optimized for mobile use and there is no way to track metrics like number of scans and viewer location. The document discusses the history of QR codes and barcodes, actual uses of QR codes, limitations of QR codes, examples of QR code use, alternatives to QR codes, and poses questions about improving QR codes.