FoundIt! uses QR codes to improve the experience of lost-and-found

FoundIt!, a startup company based in Seattle, will be officially releasing the second generation of their unique identification stickers at SXSW 2012, and they will now be much more durable and will feature QR codes.

The purpose of these changes is to help to much more effectively ensure that lost items find their way back to their owners through an experience that is just as easy for the person who finds the item as it is for the member of FoundIt!.

Katie Bandstra, the marketing director for the company, said that some people will try very hard to be able to return a lost item to its owner, but she pointed out that unfortunately while most people have good intentions there is no way for the owner to be contacted. “FoundIt! makes it incredibly easy for a Finder to do the right thing, right away.”

The ID system at FoundIt! now uses QR codes to make it even easier than it had previously been for someone who finds an item to contact that item’s owner. The finder can either follow the FoundIt! ID instructions to enter that identification into the secure system using a text message (or they can use the foundit.net website and enter it there) or they can simply scan the QR code which eliminates the necessity for manual entry of the identification.

Though many companies are struggling to find an innovative use for QR codes that will allow the barcodes to be properly used and provide true benefit and value, FoundIt! has designed a use that will deliver on an actual consumer need.