Quick Response technology sign of the digital times at Marble Falls City Hall

MARBLE FALLS — Some smart-sign technology developed overseas has come to City Hall, and it speaks volumes without any words.

City officials recently attached two Quick Response Code Signs to the outdoor bulletin board near the front entrance of the building at 800 Third St.

"Expect to see more of these wordless signs in the future," City Manager Ralph Hendricks said in a prepared statement.

Officials hope the signs will help usher Marble Falls into the digital age by catering to visitors and locals alike armed with smartphones capable of scanning and reading the signs’ encoded data. The signs themselves are very inexpensive, officials said.

At first sight, the signs appear to be just two 12-inch squares with several abstract, maze-like patterns drawn on them.

Actually, they are a pair of electronic modules equipped with two-dimensional barcodes built to relay all sorts of encoded information.

The information can be decoded and read through the use of camera-application software embedded into smartphones or other mobile devices that act as a handheld computer.