Codes carved in stone tell tale of deceased
O’Connell Stone in Ovens has been researching the technology for the past few months and is set to launch the service with a new website, headstonescork.ie.
The service, which will cost about €400, will offer people the chance to add quick response (QR) codes to headstones which will link smartphones to online memorial pages where friends and family can remember their loved ones through pictures, videos, and contributions from family members.
QR codes, essentially barcodes that can be scanned with smartphones or QR scanners, allow users to pull up information on the internet and are frequently used in advertising and marketing campaigns, and are now being brought into the world’s cemeteries.
Batt Young of O’Connell Stone said that the company’s sculptor, Christian Helling, had been researching the technology for the past three or four months.
The company now has a demonstration model set up in its showroom, but Batt admitted it required a large amount of work to get it right.
“Our sculptor Christian Helling came across it and he started looking at how we could do it,” he said.
“You might think it’s just placed on the stone and that’s it but it’s actually carved in so it’s very intricate. It took quite a bit of research to get it right.”
In fact, Batt said the Irish weather was one of the main obstacles to overcome to ensure that one of the oldest art forms could be scanned by one of the most modern of technologies.
“It looks like an old Ogham pattern or like a labyrinth. The big problem was trying to carve it onto the stone. Obviously, because of the weather here, it rains a bit and rain changes the colour of stone. For it to scan properly it has to maintain that black and white contrast and be water repellent so a lot of work went into perfecting that. Luckily, Christian is a perfectionist.”
Batt said the move to such technology was an example of how quickly companies need to adapt to new technology.
“Our objective is that if somebody wants this technology, then we can offer it and put the code onto the stone and link it to the page of their choice. It’s a long-term decision really.
“This technology can be used not just on headstones but on monuments, buildings, memorials, and is potentially a great resource for tourists who can scan the code and see all the information they need in their own language.
“You have to keep reinventing the wheel in any business so it’s just us adapting to the advances that are out there.”
As for the recession, Batt said the value of offering a good service to people for the past 12 years had ensured that O’Connell Stone had ridden the storm as well as anyone.
“The recession hasn’t affected us really, thank God. We have maintained our staff levels right through the period. I suppose 90% of our clients come from people who have recommended us before. It’s not a nine to five job or an office job.”
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