QR readers installed under street name signs at Lê Thánh Tôn - Đồng Khởi intersection in HCM City’s District 1. — VNS Photo Nguyễn Diệp

HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Transport has piloted the installation of QR readers under street name signs that provide the streets’ historical facts, background information and designated names.

The QR reader is being used for street signs in District 1 at six intersections: Lê Thánh Tôn and Đồng Khởi streets, Lê Thành Tôn and Pasteur streets, Lý Tự Trọng and Pasteur streets, Lý Tự Trọng and Đồng Khởi streets, Nguyễn Du and Đồng Khởi streets, and Lê Duẩn and Công Xã Paris streets.

The department has assigned its Road Traffic Infrastructure Management Centre to carry out and complete the work before October 15.

Ngô Hải Đường, head of the centre, said the QR readers will be installed on 134 streets in District 1 by the end of this year.

A QR code is placed directly under each street sign, he said.

People can use a smartphone to scan the code at a distance of 2-4 metres to show an image file containing detailed information that includes the street’s location, history, length, width, and a brief biography of famous people named for the street.

The information will be in both Vietnamese and English and will be updated by the city’s Department of Culture and Sports and Department of Transport.

The funding for the work is being sought from private sources.

The department will seek feedback and information from agencies, organisations, businesses and residents to improve the QR readers before expanding them city-wide.

Võ Thị Trung Trinh, deputy director of Department of Information and Communication, said the work will contribute to building a smart city by creating more modern and convenient services and applications.

Looking up historical information of the streets will also help to educate people about the country's history and culture and raise their pride and love for the homeland, she said. — VNS