I think the comparison for the lay person is just fine. The author quoted the term and explains themselves.
A QR codes encode data to be scanned and converted for the convenience of the user.
These knot graphics encode data to be scanned and converted for the convenience of the user.
> data to be scanned and converted
These appear to be write-only. Where have they documented the method of scanning and conversion? Is it patented?
The publication on arxiv only mentions visual inspection, in the context of being a bad idea.