TSA understands the usefulness and the power of QR codes® and we’re about to start using them in a few airports to see how well the codes work with our checkpoint signage. First off, if you’ve never used or even heard of a QR Code®, you’re probably wondering what it is. Let me explain…
QR Codes® are two-dimensional codes readable by barcode readers on smartphones. If your phone doesn’t come with a reader, they’re available from multiple sources on the Internet for free. When the code is scanned, your phone will take you directly to a web page or other information without having to type any information into your phone.
This is a perfect way to say more with the limited space of traditional signage. For example, we can have a sign with a couple of tips about traveling with children, but by providing a QR code®, we can point your smartphone to a video or a page with much more information. This is something you can review before the checkpoint, or you can bookmark it and read it later if you’re in a hurry.
This is a perfect way to say more with the limited space of traditional signage. For example, we can have a sign with a couple of tips about traveling with children, but by providing a QR code®, we can point your smartphone to a video or a page with much more information. This is something you can review before the checkpoint, or you can bookmark it and read it later if you’re in a hurry.We’ll be using the codes for lost and found info, customer service, procedural information, travel tips and more! If you have any ideas or suggestions, be sure to leave us a comment.
QR Code is registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED
If you’d like to comment on an unrelated topic you can do so in our Off Topic Comments post. You can also view our blog post archives or search our blog to find a related topic to comment in. If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact a Customer Support Manager at the airport you traveled, or will be traveling through by using Talk to TSA.
57 comments:
This is or should be DOA.
Another brilliant idea brought to you by the TSA.
It would help if there were signs large enough to read poste before the Strip Search Machines and far enough back to allow a person to read amd make a choice to Opt Out or not.
I noticed that FLL F gates still don't have signage for their machines posted.
Wow,
What a complete waste of resources.
Let's see what is more important. Improving TSO's knowledge of their own rules, underwing security, or QR codes.
Bob,
What is the difference what the TSA website says when TSO's still can make up rule on a whim and simply say the web site is outdated?
While you are re-doing the signs, please correct your 3-1-1 stuff to 3.4-1-1 (or 100-1-1). And correct the announcements over the loudspeakers to "Three point four ounces or 100 milliliters" instead of "three."
That way, I don't get to the airport with my legally permitted amounts, only to be told, "I don't care what it says on the website. The sign says..." or "The announcement says THREE! Your container is too big!"
What's the point?
By the time you get to the checkpoint, even if you have access to your phone (which you won't), the agent will inform you that the website is not up to date and that their request is the new standard.
Also, what about people who don't have smart phones? Are they now at a disadvantage because they either can't afford or choose not to have one?
As a taxpayer, can I just say, quit wasting my money! No wonder the government is so close to bankruptcy.
I am sick of paying for the stupidity of the government, and for the unconstitutional restrictions on my freedom.
Just another example of government employees wasting taxpayer monies...it's no wonder our country is such a mess...
Wow. What an amazing non-story. Government employees playing at being responsive.
Further proof the TSA is constantly looking for ways to make travel easier for passengers.
This is in addition to, of course, providing a less invasive body scan (scroll down for related post) and pilot programs aimed at speedier screenings.
Way to go, TSA!
Will the QR Codes® be placed far enough from the strip-search stations and radiation emitters that we can scan them and read up before being accosted?
Also, will this allow TSA agents to finally read the policies they're supposed to be following?
You know ...
Years ago, when TSA changed the limit on liquids from 3.0 ounces to 100ml, I complained on this blog that the signs at TSA checkpoints were inaccurately proclaiming the 3.0 ounce limit. I was told that it was too expensive to reprint signage to accurately reflect TSA regulations, and too wasteful of scarce resources.
Now, TSA is going to reprint its signage ... not to correct its inaccuracies, but instead to promote a technology only used by a fraction of the flying public. [sigh]
May I ask that, as long as you're going to do this, that you take the opportunity to at least make sure that the 100ml limit is stated correctly on your signs?
Could someone or this blog post a link to the statue that says TSA agents are federal law enforcement? I can not find anything saying they are, or what they can and can not do.
And then you'll accuse me of trying to photograph the checkpoint (which is allowed but your agents don't know it) when all I wanted to do was to scan the QR code.
*screenshot taken
Just dosen't matter, anything TSA trys to improve apon, the whinners will complain. Some people will never be happy, they live to complain not just about the government but EVERYTHING.
Guys come on, it's not a waste of taxpayer money, it's a justification for more money the TSA asks for every year. And you have to remember that these QR codes can also go up at bus stops, taxi stands, subway entrances and front doors around the nation -- warning us that the TSA can and will search us whenever and where ever it wants us.
The code can send your smart phone to a website as the TSA deports children (San Diego) forced to use a city bus to get to school or rifle through our bags to steal our children's lunch money (recent case of "agent" swiping a kid's $100). The QR code is like getting your rights read to you, so they can do anything they want, which the TSA will continue to do.
This isn't a waste of money, it's a, it's a, it's a -- yeah, it's a waste of money.
Cool, I love when the government tries to incorporate new technologies into it's operations!
Bob,
So what do I do when the "officer" tells me I can't take photographs a the checkpoint?
Will you have a CR code I can photograph to show the "officer" they are wrong?
I have a suggestion. If you're going to use QR codes that people scan on their mobile phones, they should at least link to mobile-formatted versions of the web pages.
Right now, they lead to regular versions of the web pages, which are rather difficult to read on mobile phones.
This is a big nuisance for most smart phone users. Creating mobile-formatted versions (if you haven't already), and then QR codes that lead to these mobile-formatted versions, would be much more helpful!
This is an affront to government accessibility and a clear example of more government incompetence and waste.
Why incompetence? Because this stuff wouldn't happen if those in charge knew what they were doing. I see this everywhere in all levels of business and government - especially within the IT field. Managers that don't have a clue about what is important. They are either in the category of they never see a new technolgy they don't love, or they have no experience in what they are managing.
What do you do if you don't have a smartphone or it needs charging or if the connection is down? Is this information only for those people smart enough to have "smart" phones?
What about an analysis of the true cost of maintaining the server infrastucture - not space - required along with all the "IT" professionals to develop and maintain the system compared to the cost of a paper sign - which you still need anyway?
Were your users demanding (or even asking) for QR codes, or were your IT professionals once again acting in their own interest in an attempt to look like they are "cutting edge" and useful?
How come your average lay person can easily realize the waste, but the IT management "professionals" who authorized this cannot?
Answer - Incompetence in IT management.
I submitted a blog post that supported the argument made by several posters that the use of these codes is useless since TSA personnel at the checkpoint routinely make up there own rules, with a current example
It was not approved.
I guess facts and reality are considered "off topic" by the TSA.
What an incredible waste of money this is. Rather than post a sign in plain English, you want to put up QR codes (R)? Congratulations, TSA, on finding yet another meaningless gesture to add to the Security Theater Kabuki Experience and Constitution Destruction Zone.
By the time I get near the security checkpoing, my smartphone is already in my carry-on bag ready to go through x-ray machine.
Shouldn't you be encouraging people to NOT have their smartphones in their hands while waiting for screening?
I can't wait to file a FOIA request to see the web traffic reports on the QR Code landing pages.
Neat idea.
Overall this is right in line with everything else the TSA does.... the 1% solution. Spending how much time and effort to solve a problem that only effects 1 to 2% of travelers.
As someone who is coming at this from the disabled community the sample signs presented are completely inadequate as far as sharing information. I can't hear what the Agents are yelling at me and the signs don't tell me what needs to be done. And I don't have a smart phone so the QR code is even more useless.
Overall, I give this effort a Fail.
Here's another prime example of WASTEFUL GOVERNMENT SPENDING! Quit wasting our taxpayer dollars on something that is not even usable by most of the population! Not everyone has a smartphone ... lots of people just have plain old ordinary cellphones which make and receive telephone calls.
And how are these things going to meet ADA requirements for accessibility?
Wow, this is great news for DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED. Presumably it will be completely worthless for the rest of us. Do we really need to pull out our smartphones and take a picture of a sign in order to learn that the TSA has put policy X in place because of some vague threat that they'd really like to tell us about, but which is just too darn sensitive to share with the public?
Is this the kind of garbage program for which the US needed to raise its debt limit over? Seriously? TSA/DHS spends money like its actually theirs to spend. My hard-earned money, taken from me by the gov't through income taxes and the fees on airline tickets is being used on absolute tripe.
I can't even think about it any longer. There is no common sense in this organization and it should be ashamed for the utter waste of money they've created.
Rebecca said...
Is this the kind of garbage program for which the US needed to raise its debt limit over? Seriously? TSA/DHS spends money like its actually theirs to spend. My hard-earned money, taken from me by the gov't through income taxes and the fees on airline tickets is being used on absolute tripe.
I can't even think about it any longer. There is no common sense in this organization and it should be ashamed for the utter waste of money they've created.
I see, Rebecca...
You're so 'digusted' with the TSA......you actually took the time to peruse the site and then post this comment on the TSA site, therefore 'supporting' the TSA! :)
If you insist on putting up codes which only people with smartphones can use, fix the 3-1-1 signs to 3.4-1-1 or 100-1-1 since it is not THREE ounces, but THREE POINT FOUR ounces, or 100 MILLILITERS.
Also, correct the announcements on the loudspeakers -- it doesn't take that much to re-record them.
That way, I don't get to the airport with my legally permitted amounts, only to be told, "I don't care what it says on the website. The sign says..." or "The announcement says THREE! Your container is too big!"
If you are re-doing the signs to include these QR codes, you cannot say it will cost too much (as you did before) to replace the incorrect signage and announcements.
In the mean time, send your agents back to school!
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/28773212/detail.html
is totally unacceptable.
Anonymous said...
Bob,
What is the difference what the TSA website says when TSO's still can make up rule on a whim and simply say the web site is outdated?
______________
I second this
JustSayin said...
I see, Rebecca...
You're so 'digusted' with the TSA......you actually took the time to peruse the site and then post this comment on the TSA site, therefore 'supporting' the TSA! :)
Posting a criticism is in no way "supporting".
Anonymous said...
JustSayin said...
I see, Rebecca...
You're so 'digusted' with the TSA......you actually took the time to peruse the site and then post this comment on the TSA site, therefore 'supporting' the TSA! :)
Posting a criticism is in no way "supporting".
August 6, 2011 8:14 PM
There are thousands of other sites to post comments about the TSA. If you so happen to choose the Official TSA site to comment, you're supporting the TSA site.
Have a nice day!
Anonymous said...
JustSayin said...
I see, Rebecca...
You're so 'digusted' with the TSA......you actually took the time to peruse the site and then post this comment on the TSA site, therefore 'supporting' the TSA! :)
Posting a criticism is in no way "supporting".
August 6, 2011 8:14 PM
There are thousands of other sites to post comments about the TSA. If you so happen to choose the Official TSA site to comment, you're supporting the TSA site.
Have a nice day!
--------------------------
So does that mean that if you send a letter to your senator criticizing them for corruption you are actually 'supporting' their corruption?
All it means is that you are willing to cut out the middle man and criticize the source of the corruption directly. In our system of government we are supposed to be able to go directly to government agencies with our grievances. If enough people have the same grievance the government is then supposed to change their practices to accommodate.
The problem is that elitist government officials think they know better than we do and they don't listen. (or read, as the Constitution clearly states they cannot do half the things they attempt)
This isn't a waste of money, it's a, it's a, it's a -- yeah, it's a waste of money.
August 5, 2011 8:56 AM
studder much?
Posting a criticism on this website is in no way "supporting" the TSA. Where is the statue saying they can conduct searches?
About 30% of mobile phone owners have a smartphone, and that number is only going up.
Using this strategy for signage you could easily tackle two problems inherent to any signage;
1) TSA policy is constantly evolving, by not printing specifics on the sign, you could always direct people to the most up-to-date info without having to constantly update signs.
2) This could be used to break down the language barrier. When phone browsers visit a website they transmit the expected language. The TSA could make the site's language sensitive to this, reducing the need for multiple signs.
When the TSA censors blog posts that provide examples of TSO's changing the rules at the check point, that alone tells us that these codes will be useless.
Anonymous said...
Posting a criticism on this website is in no way "supporting" the TSA. Where is the statue saying they can conduct searches?
August 8, 2011 5:53 PM
Thanks for the laughs...and your continued support of the TSA site!
It's like saying, "Well, I hate this person, but I'll keep hanging out with them."
While you're here, feel free to peruse the site for all of TSA's policies.
TSA: Keeping America safe from toothpaste and snowglobes since September 12th.
You realize that the TSA is well behind the curve here? QR Codes are "yesterday's technology" largely because so many people didn't adopt them.
So how did DENSO convince the TSA to do this? Who did they give money to?
Ayn R. Key said...
You realize that the TSA is well behind the curve here? QR Codes are "yesterday's technology" largely because so many people didn't adopt them.
So how did DENSO convince the TSA to do this? Who did they give money to?
August 9, 2011 12:50 PM
...............
Follow the money.
JustSayin said:
"While you're here, feel free to peruse the site for all of TSA's policies."
Gosh, thanks, JustSayin! It's really ok with you?
Stand by for privatization! Coming to an airport near you! And prompted, in part, by attitudes such as yours towards the traveling public.
JustSayin' posted:
"There are thousands of other sites to post comments about the TSA. If you so happen to choose the Official TSA site to comment, you're supporting the TSA site."
Why on earth would I post my comment elsewhere? It's the TSA's program; thus it makes sense that I would post my criticism on the TSA's blog. Not CNN. Not Fox. Not any other website.
That's fine if you support this program or any other program and the TSA itself. Post away. Show your support. Tell the rest of us where we are allegedly wrong in our sentiment. But your comment about WHERE I posted a criticism of a TSA program is simply ridiculous - almost as ridiculous as this new QR program. If it's TSA's program, I'll post it on the TSA page. It would not make sense for me to go post elsewhere. If that little bit of logic fails you and subjects me to more of your commentary, it says more about you than it does about me. I'm in the right place; I'm not so sure about you, given your responses to date.
Will TSA employees continue to [URL=http://www.pixiq.com/article/man-detained-two-hours-for-photographing-tsa-checkpoint]assault people with cameras[/URL] as they try to read the QR codes with their smartphones?
JustSayin' posted:
"There are thousands of other sites to post comments about the TSA. If you so happen to choose the Official TSA site to comment, you're supporting the TSA site."
This comment has been repeated a lot and I think it is not well thought out. We live in a Democratic Republic, which means we should be able to express our discontent directly to the government and they should change as a result. Therefore, if you are asking for change it does not make sense to go to another site.
For example, if you disagree with your senator and you write a letter to them expressing yourself, are you in fact supporting their decisions? No. Would you send a letter to the senator of another state to express yourself? No. If you want change you go to the source of the problem(or at least that is how it is supposed to work in our government, whether or not it does is something of a question).
However, if you are trying to win supporters for your cause it does make sense to post on another site where there is more reader traffic.
I do think this blog is a good way for the TSA to gather some (emphasis on some) public opinion, and a good use of resources. However, the QR codes are a waste and no more money should be spent on their implementation.
Rebecca said...
JustSayin' posted:
"There are thousands of other sites to post comments about the TSA. If you so happen to choose the Official TSA site to comment, you're supporting the TSA site."
Why on earth would I post my comment elsewhere? It's the TSA's program; thus it makes sense that I would post my criticism on the TSA's blog. Not CNN. Not Fox. Not any other website.
That's fine if you support this program or any other program and the TSA itself. Post away. Show your support. Tell the rest of us where we are allegedly wrong in our sentiment. But your comment about WHERE I posted a criticism of a TSA program is simply ridiculous - almost as ridiculous as this new QR program. If it's TSA's program, I'll post it on the TSA page. It would not make sense for me to go post elsewhere. If that little bit of logic fails you and subjects me to more of your commentary, it says more about you than it does about me. I'm in the right place; I'm not so sure about you, given your responses to date.
August 9, 2011 8:01 PM
Rebecca!!!
Thanks for your continued support of the TSA site. I love them, too!
JustSayin said:
"Rebecca!!!
Thanks for your continued support of the TSA site. I love them, too!"
Thanks, JustSayin!!! We knew you'd come around to the abuses that the TSA perpetrates on the American public!!
Thanks for supporting civil liberties!!
Anonymous said:
"Thanks, JustSayin!!! We knew you'd come around to the abuses that the TSA perpetrates on the American public!!
Thanks for supporting civil liberties!!"
I missed the original post but suffice it to say that I'm happy JustSayin has come around.
Good job, JustSayin. Most of us knew you'd come to your senses and recognize the abuses of the TSA.
Thank you to "Just Sayin" for confirming something for me. We are getting to you. That is the only conceivable reason for him/her to push this illogical line of reasoning that by posting here, we are supporting the TSA. Somebody is obviously reading this and it is getting some traction. Otherwise why would he/she bother ;-)
anon said:
"Thank you to "Just Sayin" for confirming something for me. We are getting to you. That is the only conceivable reason for him/her to push this illogical line of reasoning that by posting here, we are supporting the TSA. Somebody is obviously reading this and it is getting some traction. Otherwise why would he/she bother ;-)"
so you are posting on the blog to get to a particular blogger? isnt this blogger expressing his/her Constiutional rights by expressing his/her opinion even if it is pro tsa? this is suppose to be a blog about the tsa not an individual blogger. lets try and keep this civilized and keep on point.
for all those that doubt the 3-1-1 rule or the liquid situation, the national geographic channel is going to do a show on the liquid plot soon, i think everyone should watch it and see what it shows.
anon said:
"Thank you to "Just Sayin" for confirming something for me. We are getting to you. That is the only conceivable reason for him/her to push this illogical line of reasoning that by posting here, we are supporting the TSA. Somebody is obviously reading this and it is getting some traction. Otherwise why would he/she bother ;-)"
so you are posting on the blog to get to a particular blogger? isnt this blogger expressing his/her Constiutional rights by expressing his/her opinion even if it is pro tsa? this is suppose to be a blog about the tsa not an individual blogger. lets try and keep this civilized and keep on point.
I will be happy to apologize once you show me how what I posted is qualitatively different from what "Just Saying" posted here and on several other threads. I have no problem with someone exercising their First Amendment rights, I do have a problem when someone goes after someone with the intent of running them off this site.
I am THRILLED that my posts are being noticed. What I write is factual and to the point, and I know it scares the usual clan of 'negative naysayers.'
The TSA is terrific organization that has kept America safe for 10 years.
They deserve some recogniztion for all their hard work and dedication to our country.
Don't let the negative naysayers bring you down, TSA. Keep up the good work!
JustSayin
anon said:
"I will be happy to apologize once you show me how what I posted is qualitatively different from what "Just Saying" posted here and on several other threads. I have no problem with someone exercising their First Amendment rights, I do have a problem when someone goes after someone with the intent of running them off this site."
an eye for an eye, a great way to justify your actions.
The sad reality is the entire issue does echo a waste of both valuable resources and tax payers money.
I think more Government agencies should be using qr codes.It's a great way to keep people informed on updates with out spending all that money for print. GO GREEN
Not only that, once the info is in the users phone they can easily share it with others. Way to go TSA
I liked the idea of a QR code to give me info. Too bad it was posted on a sign way past the point where I had to surrender my phone. I had no way to scan it.
Fail.
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