How to use NFC?

NFC is a lot like RFID, only it’s a more up-close-and-personal type of wireless. Whereas RFID can be used from a distance, NFC readers work at a maximum range of about 4 inches (10 centimeters). NFC readers aren’t suitable for RFID-style inventory tracking; their range is too short. So NFC tags will appear in a flood of products and promotional items where bits of digitized information might come in handy.

Using NFC tags

Apart from mobile payments, using NFC tags is a great way to utilize this technology. You can use these to automate specific tasks when you tap on them with your smartphone’s NFC chip. It’s also possible to use tags to sign into a Wi-Fi network, obtain business information, control smart lights, access a website, and much more. You can get creative, too. Imagine walking into an office and tapping your phone on an NFC tag at the door. You can set this tag to unlock your smart lock, turn on the lights, activate the AC, turn Wi-Fi on, and start your smart coffee maker.

An NFC tag is an unpowered chip, small enough to be embedded in posters, movie passes, business cards, medication bottles, stickers, wristbands, key fobs, pens, hang tags, and more. This means it’s easy to stick them around any business or living area. You can dig deeper into the technology in the post linked right below.

You’ll need an NFC tag-writing app to set up the tags, such as the Trigger app. Once programmed, you can tap any NFC-enabled device on the tag and take advantage of its benefits. Trigger can interact with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Audio, display, alarms, calendars, social networks, navigation, Tasker tasks, etc.

Unlike RFID versions, NFC readers aren’t always specialized devices. As a matter of fact, NFC chips will be incorporated right into your smartphone’s circuitry. About 30 percent of phones worldwide might have NFC capabilities by 2018. With the widespread reach of NFC phones, NFC tags could one day become as commonplace as bar codes.

For example, a smart tag could be embedded into a political flyer. Tap the tag, and you’re directed to a Web site touting a candidate’s credentials. At the same time, you also instantly receive a snappy biography in the form of a text file and image.

Or, at your favorite restaurants, you can touch your phone to an NFC tagged menu and voila — you have the entire menu on your phone, along with nutritional information and mouth-watering descriptions of the ingredients in your favorite dishes.