NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION

D.NITHIN KRISHNA

INTRODUCTION

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a wireless technology to enable communications between two devices over close distances.

NFC uses electromagnetic fields to communicate which is in contrast to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi which use radio transmissions.

It implements standards from ISO, ECMA, ETSI.

NFC - HISTORY

Sony and Phillips are the leading innovators of NFC today. In 2004, Nokia, Sony, and Phillips formed the NFC Forum, which has

now more than 200 members. In 2006, the NFC Forum first documented the technology. Several trials of the technology took place in 2007 and 2008, but it

wasn’t successful. Major mobile manufacturers began including the technology in their

products. 2011 could be the year of Near Field Communications. Currently, NFC technology is more common in Asia, Japan, and Europe.

However the US is starting to catch up.

NFC - WORKING

NFC operates in two modes.

They are:

1. Active - Passive Mode

2. Active - Active Mode

ACTIVE-PASSIVE MODE

In this mode, one of the devices i.e. active device generates the RF field and the other device uses this field to communicate.

The active device is called the "reader" and the passive device is called the "tag".

ACTIVE - ACTIVE MODE

In this mode, both devices generate their own RF fields. In this case, two mobile devices are used to exchange data.

APPLICATIONS

NFC can be used as a virtual wallet and a smart card.

NFC devices can be used to make purchases from vending machines.

NFC can be used in Smart Posters, where NFC chip is embedded into the poster and one can just flash their mobile device and know more information about the event. 

NFC equipped mobile can be used for ticketing applications.

An NFC mobile device can transfer photos and files to a computer or HDTV.

NFC can be used for multi-player gaming.

An NFC mobile device can be used to get cash from an ATM.

NFC - SECURITYData between the two NFC devices can be encrypted using

AES standards.

Encryption is necessary for things such as credit card transactions because a third device could enter the picture and steal data.

If an NFC credit card is stolen, it can be used to make purchases. This can be prevented by using password to block its usage.

COMPARISION WITH BLUE-TOOTH:

NFC and Bluetooth are both short-range communication technologies .

NFC(424 kbit/s) operates at slower speed than Bluetooth (2.1 Mbit/s). NFC consumes less power than Blue-tooth.

Vs

NFC ENABLED HANDSETS

The following are some NFC enabled mobile phones: • Blackberry Curve• HTC One X• LG Optimus L7• Motorola Droid Razr M• Nokia Lumia 610,920• Samsung Galaxy SIII• Sony Xperia S

The following are the some NFC enabled tablets:• Nexus 7• Nexus 10

CONCLUSION

NFC is an emerging wireless technology and will continue to develop.

While the technology is common in Japan and Europe, the US is slowly adopting it.

Google has integrated NFC support into Android through its Google Wallet.

NFC technology has been incorporated into Apple’s iOS.NFC support has become a part of the Symbian  with the

release of Symbian Anna version. In India, Citibank and Delhi Metro have adopted NFC for it’s

services.