Android-NFC
WHAT IS NFC ?
NFC stands for Near Field Communication. As the name suggests,it is transmission of data for within a very limited range. The range is normally within 10 cm and frequency within 13.0 Mhz.The technology used in NFC is based on older RFID (Radio-frequency identification) ideas, which used electromagnetic induction in order to transmit information.
The data transfer is nothing but cycles of encoding and decoding.the data is coded and decoded when received in the other end.Mobiles phone which have come recently have this feature where if you just tap another phone,you can send videos,cash,images and much more.ever wondered how that happenes , it’s NFC.
BENEFITS
Though it isn’t a new technology, near field communication (NFC) is expected to make a significant leap in 2016. As new payment methods that require NFC continue to surface, including Apple Pay and Google Wallet, merchants are beginning to see the need for implementing this technology.
- Easy to use :
2. Contactless Payments:The most well-known use of NFC technology is for contactless payment. User can swipe their smartphone over a card reader to make a purchase without fumbling through credit and debit cards or counting out cash. This technology allows the User to load multiple cards and choose which one they wish to use for each transaction. Not only does this save time, but it also reduces the chances of losing a credit card that comes with carrying multiple cards around.
3. Data Sharing:
4. In Transportation: Subways and trains require a rider to purchase a ticket based on the number of trips they plan to take and are easily lost in the shuffle of the morning commute. Some cities now offer a NFC or a FeliCa — popular in Japan — version of a train ticket. Swiping a smartphone not only allows the passenger access to the subway but also keeps track of the number of trips he has left. Passengers can come and go much faster and easily pay for extra trips.
5. Health Care : As advances in medicine and technology increase, the focus is on creating better healthcare systems. With NFC technology, hospitals can better track patient information and doctors’ notes in real-time. Each time a nurse or doctor visits the patient, they can make a note of a change in recommendations and record which medicines were administered. This helps prevent the wrong medications from going to the wrong patient and creates a streamlined system focused on the best in patient care.
6. Social Networking : Social networking is booming, and NFC tags are looking to get in on the action. From swiping a smartphone to check in at a location to bumping phones with a new friend to exchange contact information, NFC allows users to interact with each other and update their location and other info without any unnecessary log-ins or tapping through menu screens.
Comparisons with Bluetooth
You might think that NFC is bit unnecessary, considering that Bluetooth has been more widely available for many years. However, there are several important technological differences between the two that gives NFC some significant benefits in certain circumstances.
The major argument in favor of NFC is that it requires much less power consumption than Bluetooth. This makes NFC perfect for passive devices, such as the advertising tags mentioned earlier, as they can operate without a major power source.
However, this power saving does have some major drawbacks. Most notably, the range of transmission is much shorter than Bluetooth. While NFC has a range of around 10 cm, just a few inches, Bluetooth connections can transmit data up to 10 meters or more from the source. Another drawback is that NFC is quite a bit slower than Bluetooth. It transmits data at a maximum speed of just 424 kbit/s, compared to 2.1 Mbit/s with Bluetooth 2.1 or around 1 Mbit/s with Bluetooth Low Energy.
But NFC does have one major advantage: faster connectivity. Due to the use of inductive coupling, and the absence of manual pairing, it takes less than one tenth of a second to establish a connection between two devices. While modern Bluetooth connects pretty fast, NFC is still super handy for certain scenarios. Namely mobile payments.
Now comming to the devices,,,,
How do I know if my Android smartphone has NFC?
It’s very simple. Just open Settings > More or Settings > Wireless & Networks and see if there’s an NFC option hiding in there. Most smartphones that have NFC place a small NFC logo on their rear panels, too.
How does NFC work on Android
NFC transmits or receives data via radio waves. It’s an established standard of wireless communication, so if devices stick to the NFC protocols they’ll be able to communicate with each other. It differs from Bluetooth in that it functions through electromagnetic induction. This means there can be a passive device, such as a poster or sticker, requiring no power source of its own that can transmit data when an active device, like your smartphone, comes into contact with it.
As an active NFC device, a smartphone can send and receive data over NFC. It encompasses the full range — three modes — of NFC:
- Reader/writer (e.g. for reading tags in NFC )
- Card emulation (e.g. for making payments)
- Peer-to-peer (e.g. for file transfers)
Types of NFC Tags
For more details refer https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/connectivity/nfc/index.html
