Near field communication

Near field communication, or NFC, allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and wireless connections between two devices in close proximity to each other, usually by no more than a few centimeters. It is expected to become a widely used system for making payments by smartphone in the United States. Many smartphones currently on the market already contain embedded NFC chips that can send encrypted data a short distance (“near field”) to a reader located, for instance, next to a retail cash register. Shoppers who have their credit card information stored in their NFC smartphones can pay for purchases by waving their smartphones near or tapping them on the reader, rather than bothering with the actual credit card. Co-invented by NXP Semiconductors and Sony in 2002, NFC technology is being added to a growing number of mobile handsets to enable mobile payments, as well as many other applications.

The Near Field Communication Forum (NFC Forum) formed in 2004 promotes sharing, pairing, and transactions between NFC devices and develops and certifies device compliance with NFC standards. A smartphone or tablet with an NFC chip could make a credit card payment or serve as keycard or ID card. NFC devices can read NFC tags on a museum or retail display to get more information or an audio or video presentation. NFC can share a contact, photo, song, application, or video or pair Bluetooth devices.

Read the rest of this entry…

NFC - Near field communication

RFID vs NFC

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is a tagging technology that is gaining widespread attention due to the great number of advantages that it offers compared to the current tagging technologies being used today; like barcodes. Near Field Communication, or more commonly known as NFC, is a subset of RFID that limits the range of communication to within 10 centimeters or 4 inches.

RFID uses radio frequency waves that are either passive, active, or a combination of both. Active RFID tags have a power source that helps extend their range even further while passive devices rely on the energy that it receives from the interrogating device to send its own information. Among the advantages of RFID is the very small size of the tag that made it possible to be used with small products or to be hidden away neatly. Another excellent advantage is that it doesn’t need a direct line of sight for the information to be read. This is very desirable in baggage tracking application where speed is very essential.

Read the rest of this entry…