Real World APIs

We transitioned into the digital age. We receive and send messages online, pay online and even work online. But sometimes the information we receive online connects to something that we do in the physical world. For example when I book an AirBnB accomodation the host often sends me a number that unlocks a little safe with a key stored inside. The access to something in the physical world in that case is transferred digitally. Placing the traditional key in a key safe converts its access to the digital realm. The unlocking, by selecting the right numbers, is done physically, but access to the key is distributed digitally.

QR codes work the other way around. A product might have a QR code printed on it that I can scan with my smartphone camera and it will take me to a website or connect me to a Wi-Fi world.

I think of QR codes and number locks as bridges. These take us from the digital to the physical world and back. Both technologies have been around for a while. Numbered key locks were here before the internet and so were barcodes that are the predecessor to QR codes. It’s neat to imagine what other translation tech there might be.