IIT Bombay gives strays QR-coded collars where you scan a dog, know its story

Stray dogs at IIT Bombay have been tagged with QR-coded collars that open digital profiles when scanned. A video of the special collar has gone viral.Stray dogs at IIT Bombay campus now have special QR tags. (Photos: @Shibyash_17/X)The stray dogs of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have something new around their necks; QR codes that can reveal their identity, location and vaccination records with a scan.The special collars are being used to identify the campus dogs and store information about their location, vaccination status and medical history, offering students and animal caretakers an easier way to keep track of them.A video shared on Instagram shows how the system works. In the clip, a man pointed to a belt fitted around a dog’s neck, with a QR code attached to it. “It has a QR code and a belt attached here. It is provided by an IIT Bombay technician; if you scan it, you can find out its Aadhaar ID, where it has roamed, its various locations, its current location, and its vaccination status,” he said. Watch the video here:The system essentially gives each tagged dog a digital identity. Scanning the QR code can bring up its unique identification number along with information about where the animal is generally found on the Powai campus. Previous locations where the dog has been scanned can also be recorded, allowing its movements to be tracked over time. The profile also stores health-related information.“It has a vaccination certificate too,” a student said.Having these details in one place could make it easier for students, staff and animal caretakers to identify individual dogs, check whether they have been vaccinated and access relevant medical information when the animals need care. On a large campus where several dogs may look similar, a scannable identification tag can also help avoid confusion about an animal’s health and treatment history.The IIT Bombay initiative comes as technology-based systems are increasingly being explored for managing stray dog populations. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently announced QR-enabled reflective collars for stray dogs, saying the system would make it easier to identify dogs that have been vaccinated against rabies and sterilised.The civic body said the collars would also allow information about the dogs to be digitally recorded and tracked.A doggy Aadhar indeed!- EndsPublished By: Srimoyee ChowdhuryPublished On: Aug 27, 2026 15:55 IST