As you might have known from my previous post about what NFC is all about, I’ve worked on how well it would really make sense in real world. My work on this yields some really great possibilities of NFC devices in real world. And the result seems to be amazing.
NFC comes head to head with Bluetooth’s longer range and higher data rates. There is going to be a lot of applications and developers and researchers are definitely going to enjoy working on it. Though I’ve found quite a bit of uses, I thought I’d put up some of the findings, which I find will influence our day-to-day life. Here’s what we will be concentrating on:
- Gaming
- Smartphones
- Payment systems
- Identity Documents
- Image and media sharing
Gaming:
NFC is going to find a lot of applications in Gaming too. This is achieved by enabling local networked game play. This would be of great advantage for WLAN Gameplay at some gathering or any other gamer’s meet up. One big problem that people face in today’s life with Bluetooth is the number of Bluetooth connections that interfere and also the pairing time. But with two NFC enabled devices placed near each other, pairing can be done in less than a second by touching the device and the NFC software will automatically do all the authentication, authorization and pairing. And you will find the two devices in Active Communication state instantly.
So, Can any NFC device connect with each other automatically? The answer would be “NO”. The authentication and authorization are considered valid since the user touched the name of the device he wish to connect to.
Smartphones:
NFC will have a major impact on Smartphones. Smartphone users will feel powerful with NFC and Bluetooth enabled in their hands. This combination will enable users to synchronize and share data between phones.
Moreover, the other big enhancement would be the change in the Payment Methods. NFC enabled phones will largely influence the payment methods across the world. You bring the NFC device tagged to your credit card near the payment receiver, and touch or authenticate the connection, your payment is done. This will solve many issues of the storekeepers swiping the card incorrectly, causing loss in money.
There are already some applications that make use of the NFC available in the market. One such application is the NFC Task Launcher for Android. Unlike the QR codes, you can create NFC tags by yourself with these applications. But now that NFC is still growing, I wonder how many people will be able to make use of your tags.
NFC enabled devices can help us recognize the RFID tags on outdoor billboards to fetch some information about it.
The next big thing I would suggest is combining Bluetooth with NFC. This would eliminate almost all the drawbacks that Bluetooth is experiencing. Like when these both are combined, the pairing becomes simple with NFC, we get better range via Bluetooth and higher data transfer rates with Bluetooth.
NFC can also be used to configure and initiate wireless networks like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or other Ultra-wideband frequency technologies.
Payment Systems:
NFC will definitely have a greater influence in the payment systems. NFC is much talked about in the payment industries. A NFC enabled mobile will be able to pay your bills when taken near the payment device and authenticating it. So, your mobile phone will be your credit or debit card.
Next up is the Mobile ticketing. Imagine you board a bus or a train without a ticket. But all you have in hand is your NFC enabled phone. You can purchase your ticket in the bus or train by triggering a tap in the NFC device. Once it is authenticated, a menu will be popped in to know to where you are commuting. Touch the appropriate location, and you’re with a valid travel ticket. Sounds cool huh? But even with all the revolutionary advantages of the NFC, I wonder how well the security is taken care of.
Identity Documents:
Did you ever imagine that your mobile phone or iPod will serve as your identity cards at various places? Your mobile will now act as your passport, ID cards or whatever cards or ID proofs that you have. Each NFC has its own unique ID. But even here I wonder, what would happen if you loose your mobile phone? All your ID proofs are gone? The answer is shockingly YES.
Image and Media Sharing:
As with the Bluetooth, which made media sharing easy, NFC also enables media sharing in a much simpler way. NFC-Bluetooth combination can be integrated into DVD players, home theatre TV and other devices. All you would have to do is to place your phone or NFC enabled DVD player near the TV and start the streaming.
Philips has demonstrated the image sharing feasibility recently. In the demo, a User-level application is used to initiate the transfer of media (picture). NFC has a lot of potential in this area.
So, what’s the future of NFC?
NFC today:
NFC has already gained wide acceptance among the major technology giants like Google, Apple, Philips and others. These companies are majorly concentrating on mobile devices with NFC capability. There are many NFC-enabled POS terminal cash points deployed at many places across the world.
NFC tomorrow:
In my opinion, NFC will become a major hit if combined with Bluetooth. Having its security flaws and other complications in mind, NFC-Bluetooth combination will be a super hit.
A device that uses NFC for payments, Bluetooth for data transfer, NFC for pairing and Bluetooth for higher data transfer rates will be a major hit.
Next up: Flaws in NFC and how to overcome them. [My Personal Opinions]
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