Near field communication (NFC) technology aims to bring in more flexibility and convenience in our life by making exchange of digital data, connection of electronic devices, and transactions far easier. NFC technology finds application especially in mobile phones which work by identifying NFC tags (integrated cards) in another device which is in a close range (4 to 10 cm) leading to exchange of data between the two. Near field communication technology is actually an evolution of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology for contactless payment systems.
NFC technology is also believed to be very similar to Bluetooth technology with the difference that it only requires two mobile devices in close proximity without any need to establish the pairing of two devices to work together like in the case of Bluetooth.
Applications of Near Field Communication Technology
Though near field communication technology is still undergoing various pilot tests across the world, it has some great potential in developing countless applications for the market in the near future. Some major areas of application are as follows:
*Transportation: NFC can be used for contactless payment of tickets in public transportation systems like railways, taxis, and buses. Every time a person travels, the check-in (parking fee and purchasing tickets) and check-out can be done by using their mobile phone to touch the NFC tags and the amount can be reduced from their source of payment directly.
*Contactless Payments: This involves payment done through credit cards, the information of which is identified by reading the NFC tags by the mobile devices used by a customer. This can be used for shopping, at a restaurant, or to use and share coupons with friends. This can also benefit the loyalty programs of stores and act like a digital wallet for a person.
*Healthcare: It finds wide application in the healthcare domain as well as research areas for various ailments. The NFC tags can be scanned by healthcare professionals as well as nurses taking care of patients and the data can be stored in a database. The history about the patient’s visit and the medication done can easily be accessed whenever required by a doctor. This has great potential to improve the healthcare standards across the world.
*Marketing: Near field communication finds great usage by marketers for advertising their product promos to a wider audience by using NFC Smart Posters. A person can simply touch the NFC-enabled phone with a poster (which has a NFC tag) to get all the information like promos, coupons, and tickets of an event, movie, or play. This means everything related to an event can be transferred to the phone with the help of NFC posters even while a person is traveling. Smart poster is a great way of viral marketing and attracting new customers for a product or service. Smart poster is already under trials in the Asia Pacific region so that they can be widely used in the near future.
Near field communication technology is the widely gaining popularity, especially after successful trials in various parts of the world. Once the NFC-enabled mobile phones are easily available in the market, the applications that it will find will be countless.
