Brief Near Field Communication (NFC) Background

To put Synaptic’s many NFC-related development services in context, a brief overview of the technology’s evolution is in order.

NFC Origins

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology paved the way for today’s NFC devices. RFID tags communicate over-the-air to a reader at distances ranging (depending on tag and reader type) from a few inches to several feet. This communication is one-way; a tag sends an ID code to a reader. RFID tags can be used to identify virtually any physical object, and are commonly affixed to:

• parts, subassemblies, or finished goods in inventory
• retail merchandise on a sales floor
• any items that might be stolen from a secure area

NFC technology evolved from RFID to provide two-way communication between any two enabled devices. This technology is often employed to:

• Trigger an app on a smartphone that, for example:
  • Provides a user with more information about a product on display and logs that user’s query
  • Displays “You Are Here” and map information in a shopping mall and logs the areas visited by the user
  • Lists instructions for safety and use of a machine on a factory floor and requires the user to verify having read the instructions
• Facilitate mutually-authenticated, cryptographically secure payments using:
  • an NFC terminal and:
  • • an NFC-enabled smartphone
    • an NFC contactless smart card payment card
  • two NFC enabled smartphones for individual-to-individual financial transactions
• Move data between two NFC enabled smartphones or tablets such as:
  • pictures
  • ringtones
  • video clips
  • "e-business cards"

NFC-Based Systems Combine Multiple Technologies

By themselves, NFC devices do nothing. They are employed as part of an overall system that performs the desired business or consumer function. Technologies commonly employed in NFC-based systems include:

• Android apps (Apple iOS devices do not currently support NFC)
• Contact and contactless Smart Cards
• RFID tags and readers
• Cryptography software to secure the data stream between NFC and other system devices
• Back-end Web application development
• Interfaces to other systems such as credit card clearing, ERP, etc

Synaptic NFC Capabilities

Synaptic Partners and Associates Have Been “Here From the Beginning” of NFC Technology

Synaptic Partner and Technology Practice Leader Jeffrey Anthony (more here and here) has served as an individual contributor, system architect, and project manager in the NFC, Contactless Smart Card, and RFID space for more than two decades.

In a variety of engineering and operations roles at an international security systems manufacturing company in the late ‘80s, Jeffrey spearheaded the use of both:

• proximity cards (a form of RFID tags) in access control systems
• RFID tags and readers interfaced to SAP for real-time inventory management and process control

As Engineering Chief for Smart Card manufacturer and systems developer ORGA Kartensysteme GmbH throughout the ‘90s, he played a pivotal role in the development of contactless smart cards used by MasterCard, American Express, The Department of Defense, and numerous other companies and government agencies around the globe.

As RFID and contactless smart card technologies evolved into NFC technology, he served as an advisor to or member of the international standards bodies that promulgated foundation standards such as:

• ISO/IEC 14443
  Specifies the functionality of contactless smartcards
• ISO/IEC 18092 and ISO/IEC 21481
  Specifies the RF and logical operation of active and passive NFC devices
• ISO/IEC 15693
  Specifies the RF operation of Vicinity cards -- essentially the long-range version of NFC devices
• EPCglobal
  A “meta standard” unifying the proliferation of discrete standards within the NFC space

As VP of Global Engineering at M+M Mars’ technology division MEI, Jeffrey led numerous projects blending NFC technology with unattended cash acceptance devices and extensive Web-based systems. These systems supported diverse applications across areas such as Public Transit, Retail Self Checkout, Vending, and Casino Gaming.

Synaptic Has Extensive Experience In All Technologies That Comprise an NFC-Based System

Synaptic is a “one stop shop” with capabilities in all technologies necessary to produce NFC-centered systems serving virtually any application in virtually any industry. In brief, these NFC-related capabilities include:

• RFID
  • Tag programming
  • Reader integration/interface
• Smart Cards
  • GlobalPlatform
  • Java Card
  • MULTOS OS
• Cryptography
  • Symmetric (DES, etc)
  • Public-key algorithms and infrastructure
• Android App Development
• Back-End Web Application Development
  • Microsoft .NET
  • SQL Server, Oracle, and NoSQL
  • LAMP Open Source Stack
• External Interfaces
  • Payment Terminal Firmware Development
  • Credit and Debit Card Processing
  • ATM Networks

In addition, Synaptic’s groundbreaking Risk Modulated Project Management™ methodology ensures that our development, whether independent or in conjunction with the client, will be delivered to-spec, on-time, and on-budget. And our many Financial/CFO services help clients ensure that the product has been produced and deployed profitably.

Our Representative NFC Projects

Synaptic’s Partner and Technology Practice Leader Jeffrey Anthony has assembled and led teams in producing numerous NFC-based systems. A few representative products include:

• An NFC Card Based Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) System for the German National Welfare System
  

  The system was centered around a C-programmed NFC contactless MULTOS smart card. This card supported two e-purses containing the user's monthly allotment for food and clothing. The card also included an advanced public-key cryptographic interface to prevent tampering and fraud.

  Supporting the card was a backend Web-based system that:

  • issued cards
  • kept tallies by numerous categories such as:
    • recipient
    • retail outlet
    • region
    • ...and numerous other categories
  • kept a dynamic image of each issued card so as to be able to void and replace lost or stolen cards
• An Automated Checkout System for an Italian-Based Global Fashion Retailer
  

  The system combined RFID technology with an NFC payment capability to provide truly automated checkout. It enabled:

  • customer-bagged merchandise to be identified via RFID tags
  • cost to be calculated as the customer neared the door
  • the purchase to be charged to the NFC payment card as the customer exited

  The user confirmed the transaction and received a receipt via an NFC smartphone app. The system also handled any applicable e-coupons at the time of checkout.

• A Product Delivery Tracking and Payment-on-Delivery System for a Fortune 500 Gasses and Chemical Manufacturer
  

  When delivering gases, various regulatory bodies ranging from the FDA to Homeland Security require extensive recordkeeping with respect to the batch from which the gas was drawn and the ID code and history of the cylinder / valve pair in which the gas is stored and delivered.

  On the business side, payment on delivery to the customer can significantly improve a supplier’s cash flow.

  We developed a system combining these requirements by combining:

  • RFID reading of Cylinder tags
  • NFC payment input (among numerous other payment types)
  • remote SAP update
  • GPS for driver directions to customer locations scheduled for delivery

Our NFC Capacity

While the above information demonstrates Synaptic’s extensive NFC capabilities, capabilities without high-quality capacity yields little. Synaptic can rapidly assemble highly experienced NFC project teams from across the Americas and the E.U. -- teams of the same leading technologists who contributed to the above successful projects.

Contact Synaptic at 866.318.3302 or at www.synapticconsulting.info for a complimentary consultation as to how we can deliver your NFC system requirements.

Synaptic: The Results You Want.

Sooner.