[DevoxxFR2013] NFC: Facilitating Mobile Interactions with the Environment
Lecturer
Romain Menetrier is a developer passionate about internet and mobile platforms. He co-organizes the Paris Android User Group and founded Macala for mobile solutions. Previously CTO at Connecthings, a European NFC leader, he now serves as NFC solutions architect at Orange.
Abstract
Romain Menetrier’s talk introduces Near Field Communication (NFC), tracing its RFID and smart card roots while focusing on mobile implementations, especially Android. He demonstrates practical uses like payments and data exchange, explaining standards, tag types, and Android APIs. Through live examples, he highlights NFC’s security via proximity and contextual potential, advocating its adoption for simplified interactions.
Origins and Fundamentals: From RFID to NFC Standards
Menetrier traces NFC to RFID and contactless cards, operating via magnetic field modulation at under 10cm for security—requiring physical presence. An antenna induces power in passive tags, enabling data return without batteries.
Standards: ISO 14443 (cards), 15693 (tags), with modes like reader/writer (phone reads/writes tags), peer-to-peer (device-to-device), and card emulation (phone as card). Frequencies at 13.56MHz allow small antennas in phones.
Tag types vary: Type 1-4 differ in capacity (48B to 32KB), speed, and protocols. NDEF (NFC Data Exchange Format) standardizes data as records with type, ID, payload—e.g., URLs, text, MIME.
Android drives diffusion: since Gingerbread, APIs handle intents on tag discovery, enabling apps to read/write without foreground requirements via tech-lists.
Practical Implementations: Android Apps for Tag Interaction and Peer-to-Peer
Menetrier demos Android apps: reading tags dispatches intents; apps filter via manifests for specific techs (e.g., NfcA). Reading parses NDEF messages into records, extracting payloads like URLs for browser launch.
Writing: create NDEF records (e.g., URI), form messages, write via NfcAdapter. Locking tags prevents overwrites.
Peer-to-peer uses Android Beam (SNEP protocol): share data by touching devices. Implement via CreateNdefMessageCallback for message creation, OnNdefPushCompleteCallback for confirmation.
Code snippet:
NfcAdapter adapter = NfcAdapter.getDefaultAdapter(this);
adapter.setNdefPushMessageCallback(new CreateNdefMessageCallback() {
@Override
public NdefMessage createNdefMessage(NfcEvent event) {
return new NdefMessage(new NdefRecord[]{createUriRecord("http://example.com")});
}
}, this);
This enables URL sharing.
Security: short range thwarts remote attacks; presence confirms intent. Contexts from tag locations enhance applications, like venue-specific info.
Everyday Applications and Future Prospects: Payments, Access, and Tracking
Common uses: payments (e.g., Cityzi in France, emulating cards via SIM-secured elements), transport (Navigo integration), access control (badges). Tags in ads track interactions, gauging interest beyond views.
Enterprise: unified NFC cards for canteen, entry—multiple IDs on one chip. Phones emulate cards, even off (via SIM linkage), blockable remotely.
Challenges: ecosystem fragmentation (operators control SIM), but growing adoption. Menetrier sees NFC simplifying interactions, with Android pivotal.
In summary, NFC’s proximity fosters secure, contextual mobile-environment links, poised for widespread use.