Overview
H010 develops holographic labels that allow brands to verify product authenticity and connect physical goods to digital experiences. The company embeds multiple QR codes within a holographic structure, allowing consumers to verify products with their phones, without having to download an app, and engage with the brand. However, holographic materials introduce significant challenges for QR code scanning. To achieve a fast, intuitive scanning experience for consumers, H010 integrated Dynamsoft Barcode Reader into its authentication platform.
Key Results
- Sub-2 second product authentication scans
- Higher scan success rates under challenging lighting conditions
- Reliable decoding of holographic QR codes
- Improved consumer authentication experience
- Robust scanning across devices and environments
Challenge
"Our target was a two-second scan. With Dynamsoft, in ideal conditions we can get much closer to instant authentication."
— George Hall, Co-Founder & CCO, H010
H010’s authentication technology relies on a unique approach: embedding multiple QR codes inside a holographic label. As the holographic label moves in the light, different QR codes appear, allowing the system to verify authenticity by reading multiple data points from a single scan. While this design significantly improves security, it creates a major technical challenge for scanning software.
Traditional QR code scanners expect:
- Flat surfaces
- Consistent black-and-white contrast
- Minimal visual distortion
Holographic labels, however, introduce reflections, color gradients, and shifting visual patterns that standard QR readers often fail to decode reliably. The H010 team initially attempted to solve the problem internally, using open-source libraries and experimenting with thresholding and different ways to isolate the codes. Despite extensive experimentation, the improvements were limited. For H010, the challenge wasn’t just technical performance. Because the product is designed for everyday consumers, the scanning experience had to be fast and intuitive.
Solution
H010 integrated Dynamsoft Barcode Reader into its web-based authentication platform to provide fast and reliable scanning of holographic QR codes. Using the JavaScript edition meant that customers could simply scan labels with their phones, without needing to download an app. Dynamsoft’s scanning algorithms proved significantly more robust when interpreting the complex visual characteristics of the labels.
Key capabilities included:
- High-performance decoding of distorted or reflective QR codes
- Reliable scanning under varied lighting conditions
- Fast recognition across a wide range of mobile devices
The solution also allowed H010 to combine QR scanning with optical recognition of a unique product identifier, enabling the system to authenticate individual items and deliver personalized digital content.
"Dynamsoft improved the scanning experience by orders of magnitude. It made the whole system much more robust and dramatically faster."
— George Hall, Co-Founder & CCO, H010
Why H010 Chose Dynamsoft
For H010, barcode scanning is a critical capability but not the company’s core innovation. The company’s competitive advantage lies in its patented holographic authentication labels and SaaS platform. Using Dynamsoft allowed the team to focus on those core innovations rather than building scanning infrastructure from scratch.
Impact
Integrating Dynamsoft Barcode Reader allowed H010 to deliver the fast consumer authentication experience required for its product. In ideal conditions, scans can now complete in under a second, helping the platform meet its goal of near-instant authentication. Interestingly, the improved performance created a new UX challenge. Because scans were sometimes completing almost instantly, H010 had to adjust its interface to show users what was happening behind the scenes.
With reliable scanning now in place, H010 can focus on its broader platform vision: enabling brands to authenticate products and engage consumers directly from physical packaging.
Brands using the platform can:
- Verify product authenticity
- Protect against counterfeiting
- Deliver exclusive digital content
- Share provenance and product information
- Build direct relationships with consumers
"Dynamsoft improved the scanning experience by orders of magnitude. It made the whole system much more robust and dramatically faster."
— George Hall, Co-Founder & CCO, H010
Technologies Used
- Dynamsoft Barcode Reader
- QR code scanning
- OCR for product identifiers
About Dynamsoft Barcode Reader
Dynamsoft Barcode Reader is an enterprise-grade barcode scanning SDK that delivers exceptional accuracy and speed. Designed to handle even the most challenging barcode conditions, it enables developers to build solutions that efficiently capture barcode data, optimize workflows, and enhance operational efficiency.