So what exactly is NFC? Well, NFC stands for Near Field Communications. It’s something that’s been around for many years under a different guise. In fact there’s a good chance you’re a regular user of this technology already! RFID, the forebear to NFC, has been used for microchipping pets, granting access to secured offices, and paying for public transport in London and other major cities around the world.
The killer application for NFC is often said to be mobile payments, and whilst it’s not clear how that will play out, what is clear is that NFC is cutting-edge technology and it’s going to become a big part of everyday life, albeit an invisible one.
Technically speaking, NFC enables wireless communication between two objects. Smartphones and tablets can read information from NFC tags, or the devices can send small amounts of information to each other.
The NFC tags themselves consist of tiny microchips where the information is stored and an antenna which picks up the wireless signal from the smart device. Because these tags are tiny and don’t require their own power source we can embed them almost anywhere: in posters, business cards, wristbands, ID cards, tickets, stickers and even pets; giving these objects a digital identity (pet microchipping) or a digital interaction (smart posters).
Great, but what are the practical uses of NFC? Take the Museum of London for example. This enterprising organisation has introduced NFC tags to give visitors greater information about the museum’s exhibits on their smartphones as well as letting them quickly connect to the museum on social networking sites, amongst other things. Visitors simply have to tap their smartphones on the NFC signs around the museum.
Another practical use of NFC is with business cards. These days most business people use their smartphone or BlackBerry as their address book. In the past, business people may have kept a stack of business cards from the interesting people they met, or perhaps they discarded the cards after sitting down and entering the details into their phone, by hand.
With NFC business cards that is no longer necessary. All the recipient has to do is tap the NFC business card on their smartphone and, bam! All your information gets transferred to their device and address book. And because NFC is an open standard it will work out of the box, on any NFC device, and without any setup. The recipient does not even need an app.
NFC benefits everyone. It makes everyday tasks that little bit easier and it can help businesses better understand how consumers are interacting with their products and adverts. The average person is not going to be all that interested in NFC itself, but they will be interested in the interactivity it brings to everyday life.
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