A sophisticated quick response code built into Fairfax Media tablet and smartphone apps is a world-first, the Australia-based newspaper publisher claims.

The AirLink technology is the result of a ‘smart services’ partnership teaming seven Australian universities with government support – among them Wollongong and RMIT universities.

A beta version of the “world first” technology was shown by Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood to delegates at the Digital Media Asia conference in Hong Kong last week, but digital publisher Jane Huxley says it will not be brought to market until next year.

“We will not bring it to market until we have a sponsor, but we’ve been amazed by the level of interest, so that’s a quality problem to have,” she told GXpress.

Using the camera in a smartphone, AirLink recognises an image – which might be a photograph, headline or graphic – in a printed publication or elsewhere and immediately directs the phone to enriching digital content.

What’s unusual about the Fairfax technology is that the code will be resident (as an update) in apps the publisher already has in the market. Unlike other QR codes – including public domain ones – there will be no need to download a separate app to read it.

“We can drop the code straight into the installed base for our apps – not just the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, but others such as Domain, Drive and MyCareer,” Huxley says.

The smart services partnership has already generated other products for Fairfax including Scoop, a tool for journalists which cross-references other news sites to help establish whether a story has already been written.