The multimodal evolution of the barcode

A barcode/QR code you can write by hand

Barcodes use bars. QR codes use dots. zzThis uses everyday words. Just wrap your words in double z’s - like zz-Kathy-found-dog-zz - write it on anything with a marker, and scan it to open its digital record. The “zz” ends tell our scanner exactly where to look, just like the start and end bars on a barcode and the three corner squares on a QR code.

How it works See field logistics

A polaroid pinned to a cork board: a plush corgi wearing a zz tag, captioned zz-Kathy-found-dog-zz.

A hand holds a phone scanning the plush corgi; the screen reads zz-Kathy-found-dog-zz, Record found, and the record link.

zzThis is a human-readable, human-writable code for the physical world. Write a zz-code on tape, a crate, a parcel, an envelope, or a sign, or embed it in text or program code. zzThis makes things readable-writable-smart.

Versatile, custom, any language. Write your own words, or draw them from a custom dictionary set by your organization’s rules. Even offline with no phone, a marker is all you need: tag objects with your own words now and register them later. Each position in a code can carry its own meaning, such as a unit, a person, or an action. A code can even hold a hand-drawn picture, zz--zz, or be written in any language: zz-구리-등불-하늘-zz, zz-נהורא-שמיא-zz.

Blockchain, AI, and macros. The same codes work three more ways: as readable aliases for blockchain accounts, ledger entries, and smart-contract addresses; as verifiable identifiers for AI agents, such as zz-AI@-Agentsmith-zz; and as macros that trigger a defined task, such as zz-fn-invoice-Acme-zz, which runs only after an authorized person confirms it.

Look up a code

Demo · demo data

Olive crate with blue tape reading zz-copper-lantern-sky-zz beside an obscured barcode. — Concept illustration The zzThis word code augments or replaces an obscured barcode.

Physical-to-digital addressing

Skip the printer. Grab a marker.

zzThis is a structurally constrained, human-readable tagging protocol. By bounding ordinary words with a “zz” prefix and suffix, we turn handwriting into a highly secure, scannable data link, from austere environments and logistics to everyday tracking.

zzThis protocol words connect things to their online information.

Create it. Choose or create your words and link them to information.
Write it. Put the zz-code on your item or sign.
Look it up. Scan the words to open the linked information.

The shortest, smartest distance between a physical thing, its digital record, and the work that comes next.

A zz code gives people a way to create the mark themselves, wherever the work happens. Future AI-assisted workflows could help identify what a camera sees, count what remains, suggest how an item should be handled, and prepare the next task; those capabilities are explorations, not shipped v1 behavior. The same visible code connects the item, its history, and the people responsible for it. It bridges physical things and their digital control. AI may serve as an interface and connector, not as the authority that defines or resolves a zz code.

zz-copper-lantern-sky-zz

opening markerwordwordword or check wordclosing marker

Word code: zz-copper-lantern-sky-zz
Field code: zz-b2-smith-1-zz
Handle: zz-@agentsmith-zz
Circled marker: (zz) camp bravo four two (zz)

Why the zz markers matter

The zz markers are to zzThis what the start and stop bars are to a barcode, or the corner squares are to a QR code: a fixed frame that tells people and machines that a code exists and where it begins and ends.

Human-friendly: The two zz marks are a memorable, distinctive anchor. People quickly learn to spot them as the boundaries of a written code.
Machine-friendly: Almost no words begin with “zz,” and a phrase framed by zz at both ends almost never occurs in ordinary text, signage, or software. This rare frame keeps false matches low, lets a planned camera scanner find the endpoints and bound the region to inspect, and is friendly to machines.
The result: A simple bridge between physical things and their digital records, where the code stays fully readable and writable by people.

zz- In - any - language -zz

Korean zz-구리-등불-하늘-zz
Japanese zz-さくら-ねこ-そら-zz (cherry blossom, cat, sky)
German zz-kupfer-laterne-himmel-zz
French zz-cuivre-lanterne-ciel-zz
Aramaic zz-נהורא-שמיא-zz (light, sky)
Russian zz-медь-фонарь-небо-zz

How zzThis compares

Barcode
Create the mark
Print
Read the mark
Scanner
What it connects
Item to data
Easy to say and remember
No
QR code
Create the mark
Print or display
Read the mark
Camera
What it connects
Surface to digital content
Easy to say and remember
No
Alphanumeric code
Create the mark
Print or handwrite
Read the mark
Person, scanner, or typing
What it connects
Shipment or item to its tracking status
Easy to say and remember
Hard (8 to 22 random characters)
zzThis
Create the mark
Write, draw, print, or display: words, numbers, or symbols
Read the mark
Person or typing; on-device camera recognition planned for v1
What it connects
Physical thing to its authorized digital record
Easy to say and remember
Yes (2 to 4 words, or short words and numbers)

How zzThis compares
	Barcode	QR code	Alphanumeric code	zzThis
Create the mark	Print	Print or display	Print or handwrite	Write, draw, print, or display: words, numbers, or symbols
Read the mark	Scanner	Camera	Person, scanner, or typing	Person or typing; on-device camera recognition planned for v1
What it connects	Item to data	Surface to digital content	Shipment or item to its tracking status	Physical thing to its authorized digital record
Easy to say and remember	No	No	Hard (8 to 22 random characters)	Yes (2 to 4 words, or short words and numbers)

Alphanumeric example: an 8-character handwritten postage code (Deutsche Post) or a 14–22-character parcel tracking number. zz-codes can be words, numbers, or simple hand-drawn symbols such as a smiley or tally marks, and can be read even when written inside a sentence.

How it works - field

01
Mark
Write the code on tape, a crate, or a pallet.
02
Read
Scan it like a bar code or QR code, or type it in.
03
Link
Connect to an existing record and photo.
04
Speak
Say the code words to another person.

Example code zz-copper-lantern-sky-zz

For a field code made with no device, link and reconcile later.

Try the scripted demo

The code is public; the record is protected

The visible words are a public identifier, not a password or private key. Payment and authorization remain in signed backend records.

Potential use cases and explorations

01
Logistics
zz-copper-lantern-sky-zzzz-fastfreight-c4821-123-zz
Future workflows to identify and hand off items with handwritten codes, connected to shipping, customs, payment services, and shared ledgers.
02
Postal
zz-post-rock-river-sky-zz
Future postal and parcel workflows using handwritten codes as references.
03
Everyday use: zzThat
zz-kathy-lost-cat-zzzz-moving-box-kitchen-3-zz
Community examples include a lost-pet flyer, a moving box, or a garage-sale item. The zzThat Android and iOS apps are in alpha/beta testing.
04
AI agents
zz-acme-support-agent-zzzz-@agentsmith-zz
Future integrations to give agents short, readable aliases.
05
Blockchain addresses
zz-btc-harbor-violet-nine-zzzz-harbor-violet-nine-zz
Future integrations to map readable codes to wallets, accounts, smart-contracts, NFTs, agent addresses, and oracles.
06
Macros
zz-fn-pay-agentsmith-zzzz-run-reorder-water-zz
Future authorized actions to let a code refer to a command, subject to separate authentication, authorization, and confirmation. The code itself carries no authority.

Field logistics

Hand-mark mixed items at the point of work; link the mark to a record.

No device, no network: mark first With only a marker, a Soldier names and marks each item with a self-made field code when no phone, scanner, or network is available, then reconciles it to the system later. Built for the extreme edge, and fault tolerant.
Batched pallet: many items, one code Loose items, with or without their own labels, are photographed and batched under one code or work order: here, a wrapped pallet with a circled zz marker.
Unreadable barcode? Mark it by hand When an existing barcode or QR code is damaged or cannot be read, a Soldier writes a zz-code next to it in seconds, and the item is logged into the system.

Your Super Lens to the Physical World

Planned: camera recognition is not live yet.

01 Photograph
Loose or broken items; spoken note.
02 Guide
Confirmed item and handling choices.
03 Review
Prepared form and photos.

Day 1 and Day 4 shelf photos; water at about two days left with a reorder prompt. — **Inventory assistant** Same shelf across days; lower stock and proposed reorder.

Phone screen with a recognized item being dragged onto large action buttons. — **Touch first** zz mark or identify multiple items at once.

PHOTOGRAPH one or more items → CONFIRM the proposed identification → choose a handling or inventory action by touch → REVIEW the prepared record or form.

Proposed architecture

One central server owns codes, records, grants, and the audit log; every app is an API client. Revocation, single use, expiry, and rate limits are enforced on the server.

Proposal, not built.

API clients

Phone appon-device recognition

Web app

Partner systems

Edge layer

Fast readsresolve, cached signed records

Central server

Write and signing APIissue, revoke, version, grants

Portable SQLcodes, records, record_versions, grants, audit_events

Object storagephotos for retries and review

Cloud vision modelhard cases only

More applications

The same writable code works in other settings.

Concept illustration
Field logistics
Field workflow to use handwritten codes on bags, crates, pallets, and mixed goods to connect items to existing identifiers and prepare tasks and inventory work.
Concept illustration
Postal and parcel
Future postal or parcel workflow, batch work, or project can have optional reference code words to be used for identity before a final parcel code is chosen.
Concept illustration
Everyday, community, and public
Concept illustration
Digital aliases