New solutions from the Design Studio

Near Field Communication: short range, long potential

Near Field Communication users must typically touch one device to another to make a connection. ‘Touch’ applications are not only convenient to use, but also add an inherent level of security, since anyone hoping to scan a device remotely would need to get extremely close.

There’s a huge range of wireless technologies out there: Bluetooth, WiFi, RFID, EVDO and beyond. However, one of the most exciting wireless standards for conducting transactions and transferring data is little known to consumers: NFC, or Near Field Communication.

NFC isn’t likely to remain in the shadows for long: With its support for a broad range of applications, this wireless technology, that operates at 13.56Mhz, is going to be surfacing in more and more places soon.

What truly makes NFC different is its flexibility. Many wireless technologies involve a relatively passive target (for example, an RFID tag), which interfaces with a more active reader that begins the communication and performs all back-end data processing. According to Mohammad Khan, president of NFC solution provider VivoTech, NFC allows devices to act as a card (or tag) as well as a reader of a card or tag. This more robust approach allows NFC to support significantly more applications.

It's a phone, it's a wallet... it's NFC

Touching your phone to a sensor to make a purchase is one of the most compelling NFC applications – and it’s also one of the most complex. Downloading a URL or ringtone from a smart poster requires little application support and no authentication; but a secure purchase requires coordination from many parties.

NFC transactions have been a reality for some time in Japan, where millions of phones from NTT DoCoMo are used for payments in stores, mass transit stations and restaurants. However, since NTT DoCoMo also owns a significant stake in one of Japan’s largest credit card companies, creating the needed support for phone transactions was much simpler than in other countries. “The technology is there already, and proven; the biggest challenge on any pilot is to bring all the parties together to deliver a working solution,” says Mohammad Khan, President of NFC solution provider VivoTech. Fortunately, great strides are being made thanks to several exciting trials of NFC-enabled phones.

NFC hits Broadway

One of the most extensive trials of NFC to date took place earlier this year at the NYC Mobile Trial in New York. Mastercard, Citibank, Nokia and Cingular, with support from VivoTech, partnered for the months-long test. Since MasterCard had already implemented the PayPass contactless payment system in New York, it was a perfect location.

“We were able to piggyback on existing POS (point of sale) infrastructure throughout the city,” says Peter Wakin, Director of Corporate Venturing at Nokia. And since Nokia has been working on NFC-enabled phones since 1991, getting the right phones was not a problem.

During the trial, participants were given Nokia NFC phones to use with their Cingular and MasterCard accounts at drugstores, fast food restaurants, movie theaters and even Citibank ATMs. One particularly exciting aspect of the New York City trial was the integration of NFC readers into certain subway turnstiles. “Trial participants didn’t need to reach out to their wallet to pull out a card or stop by a ticket counter, but just tapped their NFC mobile phone on the contactless reader to go,” describes VivoTech’s Khan.

While security is always a concern with any payment, several protections were built into the NFC solutions. First, as noted by Wakin, the very fact that NFC is so short-range provides a layer of security. With ranges of around 2.5 centimeters, you’re touching a point of sale to make the transaction, so a remote scanner cannot easily steal information.

Adds Khan: “There is built-in security based on 128 bit DES keys that inhibit fraud or security issues with NFC mobile phones or contactless card-based payment.” Finally, PIN codes were still required for large transactions.

Although full results are not yet available for the NYC Mobile Trial, initial feedback has been positive, and the trial went smoothly. “People lost phones of course, but there weren’t any major headaches,” says Wakin. The trial will certainly provide an important proof of concept for other companies exploring the complex issue of implementing cell phone-based NFC payments.

The task remains complicated, particularly in the US. A critical mass of merchants must be persuaded to add NFC readers, which can cost over USD$100; consumers must be educated about using NFC and its benefits; and, most importantly, banks and cellular providers must work together to provide a seamless experience for everyone involved.

However, with research firms such as ABI Research estimating that as much as 20% of all cell phones will ship with NFC within five years, expect to see NFC coming to a phone near you soon.

Touching the Future

Innovative new applications in Near Field Communication (NFC) were celebrated at the first European NFC competition, showing that anything is possible when it comes to the new technology.

The Touching the Future competition brought together 53 entrants from 13 countries under the theme ‘simplicity of touch’ and with the goal of promoting excellence in European NFC service implementations. The NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association, and the SmartTouch project jointly presented the competition, which was held on April 27 in Monaco.

“We wanted Touching the Future to push the limit,” says Vice Chairman of the NFC Forum, Gerhard Romen. “We wanted to go beyond what is currently out there and see, instead, what is possible.”

NFC utilizes short-range, wireless technology, in cell phones, computers and consumer electronics. Two NFC compatible devices can exchange information when brought within a few centimeters of one another or by actually touching.

Touching the Future hosted two tracks of competition, with Track A open to NFC services already implemented in Europe, and Track B open to proposals for future NFC services.

Winner: Seeingeyephone

Sonja Leskinen and teammates Tapio Matinmikko and Vili Törmänen, from The Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT), took home the first place honors in Track B for the revolutionary Seeingeyephone.

“There were so many participants with so many great ideas. We were very happy to win,” says Leskinen. The Seeingeyephone was designed to assist visually impaired grocery store shoppers. An NFC tag containing information about store products, such as price and nutritional information, is attached to the store shelf next to the product, allowing customers to simply hold an NFC-enabled phone to the tag. The phone can then read the information aloud using a voice synthesizer.

Inspired by his visually impaired brother, VTT team member Tapio Matinmikki developed the Seeingeyephone two years ago, when the technology for the application did not yet exist. With its theme of looking ahead, Touching the Future was an ideal forum through which to present the concept, explains Leskinen. “Today, the technology is there to make the Seeingeyephone a reality,” she says.

Winner: Help for homecare

The top prizewinner for Track A was Nedap NV Healthcare of The Netherlands for its iO TouchPro. Already being utilized by 6,000 healthcare workers in Europe, the iO TouchPro eliminates paperwork and saves time by automating the process of recording and transmitting patient services provided by homecare workers. The application uses an NFC-enabled Nokia 3220 mobile phone and Nedap’s iO software.

Rob Schuurman presented the iO TouchPro on behalf of Nedap. “With iO TouchPro, when a nurse enters the patient’s home, he or she just touches the patient chip card with their phone,” says Schuurman. “That stores the start time in our central database and sends the nurse specific information about the patient.”

Several security applications were also presented in both tracks of competition. They included a second submission from Nedap, iO open, which enables healthcare workers to access patients’ homes in case of emergency, and the Vacant Property NFC Application from Over-C UK, Ltd.

Winner: On patrol

The Vacant Property application uses NFC tags located throughout an empty building. The tags allow a patrolling security guard to submit their location while also monitoring how long it takes to get from point A to B to C.

“Timing is critical in this application,” Gerhard Romen explains. “Because, if a certain time threshold is passed without the guard checking in, you will know there is trouble and know fast.”

Radio frequency identification (RFID)

In the competitive travel sector, sought-after business and luxury travelers are hard to please and even harder to impress. Accordingly, hotels are investigating high-tech features that can make guest stays safer, more convenient and more enjoyable – including using passive or short-range RFID tags for security, payment and tracking preferences.

“The potential to impress with pristine hospitality is stunning,” says Brendon Lam, lecturer at the RFID Hospitality Management Systems Center(RHyMeS) in Singapore.

Since hotels combine both public and private spaces, secure access is important; however, hotels also want to provide a seamless experience for guests. Providing a short-range RFID tag – in the form of a card, fob or wristband – allows companies to do exactly that. Instead of having to fumble with cumbersome keys, guests can simply wave their tag in front of a door reader, in many cases without removing it from a wallet or purse.

In addition to the obvious convenience for guests, an RFID solution provides multiple benefits for hotels. Because the RFID solutions are programmable, hotels could quickly and easily change employee access privileges – so a staffer can only open rooms on a specific floor, for example, or a keycard taken by a departed guest can be deactivated. This contactless approach also reduces wear and tear, along with maintenance costs.

As you like it

The potential higher level of service that could be enabled through RFID may nonetheless encourage hotels to make the investment. At a minimum, hotels could give frequent preferred guests an RFID tag to keep and use for quick check-ins and check-outs with a special automated kiosk. (This type of service is currently being implemented at Millennium & Copthorne International hotels in Asia, through partnership with RHyMES.)

Staff could also potentially identify guests through RFID, instantly greeting them by name and quickly accessing stored information on their preferences.

“There are legendary hotels in Bangkok that remember guests’ preferences, to the extent that a guest is served his favorite Bloody Mary as a welcome drink instead of the usual tropical fruit punch,” says Lam, adding that RFID could allow every hotel staffer to deliver the same hospitality even for infrequent visitors.

Of course, some people may find this type of service intrusive, or even a violation of privacy. According to Lam, these concerns are more prevalent in Europe and North America, where there is greater suspicion attached to RFID spying on your every move.

The service is always optional and RFID bearers can choose to restrict access to information with a simple RF shield that wraps around the tag, blocking information until the bearer gives the go-ahead.