A Glimpse into the Future of QR Code Reading with Useful Sensors’ Tiny Code Reader

Useful Sensors has launched the Tiny Code Reader, a small camera module with an RP2040 chip built specifically to read 2D QR codes. Price at $7.00, this board can be used in projects that involve QR codes.

Useful Sensors’ co-founder Pete Warden explains,

It’s designed to be a simple way to provision a system, for example by providing the Wi-Fi network name and password, or to provide input when there’s no keyboard. Internally the Tiny Code Reader bundles an image sensor and a small microcontroller into a single board, but to make it as easy as possible to build into products we’ve tried to hide those implementation details.

That is exactly what this sensor does! Rather than building a bare sensor, Useful Sensors’s Tiny Code Reader handles all the heavy lifting with the help of the onboard RP2040 microcontroller. The microcontroller runs a custom tinyML code designed to read QR codes from various sources, including screens, paper, and e-ink displays. The RP2040 captures the code and transmits encoded text via the I2C interface.

The Tiny Code Reade measures only 0.75 x 0.64 x 0.42 inches, supports I2C speeds of 400K, and features a feedback leda and a QWICC connector. If you don’t want to use the QWICC connector, a 0.1″ header is also there to solder wires and make the board work.

The camera has a CMOS sensor and requires at least 100 lux lighting to function accurately. So, in low light, an additional LED needs to be connected externally. To read a QR code your objects should be 10cm to 15cm from the camera for best results. Also, mounting orientation doesn’t affect its accuracy.

Overall the module is excellent, offers decent features, and it’s very affordable. Still, there is One apparent restriction: You can’t view the image data or update the firmware in this device. It’s done to prevent misuse. Warden also says,

[Even though there are restrictions, we hope its features and functions make up for these limitations]

You can find more valuable information on Useful Sensors’ official GitHub repository, you can also find examples of the Raspberry Pi Pico, Arduino, MicroPython, and CircuitPython.The Tiny Code Reader is priced at £6.96 on OKDO and $7.00 on SparkFun and Adafruit.

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