QR Codes are two-dimensional bar codes hat contain any alphanumeric text and often feature URLs that direct users to sites where they can learn about an object or place (a practice known as “mobile tagging”). Codes can provide tracking information for products in industry, routing data on a mailing label, or contact information on a business card.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses the electromagnetic or electrostatic coupling in the RF portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to transmit signals. RFID systems can be used just about anywhere, from clothing tags to missiles to pet tags to food — anywhere that a unique identification system is needed. The tag can carry information as simple as a pet owners name and address or the cleaning instruction on a sweater to as complex as instructions on how to assemble a car. Some auto manufacturers use RFID systems to move cars through an assembly line. At each successive stage of production, the RFID tag tells the computers what the next step of automated assembly is.