[Wireless Technology to Transform the World] Part 3, Leave your wallet at home! ‘NFC’

Welcome back to our series on wireless communication technologies that make our everyday lives easier.<세상을 바꾸는 무선통신기술> Today we’ll explore ‘NFC (Near-Field Communication)’, a technology in our smart phones that means we’ll never have to carry our wallets around anymore. NFC is similar to, but also very different from, Bluetooth. We’ll look at the operating principle behind NFC and the various applications the technology has found in the world around us. NFC: flying on Android wings

NFC (Near Field Communication) is a wireless communication technology which allows contact-free data transmission and receiving between devices within distances not exceeding 10cm. Unlike conventional wireless communication technologies, NFC is characterized by bi-directional data transmission and receipt. NFC is most familiar to us as a feature on our smartphones, leading us to believe the technology was developed some time after the invention of the smartphone. But the truth is, NFC has been around since 2002. But at the time, few devices supported the new technology, and for a while, it fell into obscurity. It wasn’t until the arrival of the smartphone that NFC came into its own. Official support for NFC arrived in 2010, with Android version 2.3 (Gingerbread). There are three elements required for NFC communication on your mobile device. The first is an NFC chipset for data receiving, transmission and processing. The second is an antenna to transmit signals for NFC communication, and the third is your USIM, which stores user and payment information. The NFC chipset is similar to the chip found on your credit card, but is capable of bi-directional data transmission and receipt as needed. What’s the difference between Bluetooth and NFC?

NFC is easy to confuse with Bluetooth, another common wireless communication technology. But there are distinct differences. First, NFC communication between devices occurs at close range, not exceeding 10cm. But Bluetooth has a greater range of around 10m. That is, there are a greater number of devices within the range of Bluetooth, making it possible that you might end up connecting with the wrong device. But NFC only works in the ‘near field’, making the chances of such confusion quite low. It’s for this reason that NFC technology is more suited than Bluetooth for transmitting and receiving payment information and other information that requires a high level of security. The two technologies also differ in terms of how long they take to configure. Bluetooth requires you to manually approve inter-device information exchanges, and pairing itself takes a moment too. But with NFC, simply enable the antenna and tap the sensor, and the data exchange occurs in the blink of an eye - within 0.1 second. NFC technology around you

NFC technology is making various aspects of our lives more convenient and is found not only in mobile payment services but also mobile staff ID cards, home appliances, and automobiles. This allows us to unlock our cars with our smartphones and even start our cars using an app. NFC is found in various home appliances as well. ‘The Sero’ launched by Samsung Electronics last year uses NFC technology to sync the display to your mobile device. Simply enabling the screen mirroring function allows you to sync the vertical screen with your mobile device, providing an immersive experience of various social media, shopping, gaming, and video content. NFC is also found in printers, document centers, and cameras. NFC technology means you can print documents and transmit photo data without the need for driver installation, a PC connection, or fussy cables. Bi-directional communication capability means document scans can be transmitted directly to your smartphone, and photos taken on your mobile device can be sent directly to your camera. NFC is also used to augment existing QR technology, which requires manual scanning using a camera app. NFC tags can be attached to individual works in museum art exhibits, and when a user scans each tag with his or her smartphone, detailed information on the work is brought up. Remember to look for an NFC mark the next time you’re at a museum or exhibition. That wraps up our look into NFC, a technology that seems to have been made precisely for the smartphone. We hope you’ve learned a thing or two about this wondrous technology that makes our lives so much more convenient. See Related Content [Wireless Technology to Transform the World] Part 1, Harald, the blue-toothed king [Wireless Technology to Transform the World] Part 2, The long-distance runner of wireless technology: ‘RFID’