Nearfield Communication For Convenience, Competitive Advantage

Nearfield Communication For Convenience, Competitive Advantage

NXP and automotive system maker, Continental, demonstrated a concept car with nearfield communication (NFC) capabilities at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain last week.

Using NXP NFC semiconductor devices, like the PN512, the concept vehicle could receive secure, contactless communications from a mobile device granting entry or even starting the engine without the driver having to worry about taking out a key.

The NXP / Continental concept requires users to contact a secure server and download an encrypted virtual key to the mobile device. Once the virtual key is installed, the mobile phone becomes a sort of passive keyless entry and starter. In the future, this sort of implementation will make it possible for a car owner to walk right up to the car, open the door handle, get in, buckle up, and drive away, perhaps, without even having to take out the mobile device containing the virtual key.

In this sort of a scenario, convenience is clearly key — pun intended. This NXP NFC demonstration also makes it clear that design engineers working on all sorts of projects might want to consider NFC-related features, particularly as NFC-equipped smart phones become more common.

Sample applications for NFC abound, but some of my personal favorites include, a home environmental system that adjusts light levels, heating and cooling, and even turns off specified appliances, several minutes after an NFC-enabled phone passes a NFC transceiver built into the door frame. Put simply, the house stops wasting energy when you go out.

NFC might also be used to unlock a home, store, or office door or make it possible for your refrigerator to pass shopping list items to your to-do app.

Armando Roggio