2d Barcode vs 1d barcode - speed, accuracy, size

Question

I wanted to implement barcode for one of my mobile project requirements. The amount of data that is to be stored is very little (<25 alpha-numeric). I want to know if its wiser to implement a 1d barcode or a 2d barcode (Qr code particularly) for this project. I would be really glad if someone could educate me on the following aspects from a 1d vs 2d perspective:

1. scanning speed
2. size (minimum display size that is needed, for the mobile camera to recognize -- this is more crucual)
3. accuracy

Considered from a typical processing and SDK perspective (zxing preferably).

Answer 1

I'd go with a qr code, particularly if you're planning on using a phone camera. qr codes have features (finders) that make things like perspective correction easier/more reliable. They also have ECC that enables eliminating false positives and correcting various amounts of bit detection errors. If you look at the zxing test suite, you'll find a number of false positive 1D cases since many 1D codes don't have even a checksum.

Speed's probably not an issue for either case if you know what you're trying to scan. The biggest computational cost in zxing is going through all possible codes when you don't know what you're looking for. If you know the code type, it's not likely to be significantly different.

The only thing about size is the number of pixels that have to be captured. In other words, a small code can be read if you hold the camera close to the code. A large code can be read from further away. All this is subject to light conditions, camera focus (or lack there of), and camera brightness adjustment. I can't see how any of these would impact 1D vs 2D though.