An introduction of NFC technology. Including relative specs and some applications on Android.

1. Ray Cheng
Introduction to NFC

2. Outline
• Introduction to NFC
• Use Cases
• Technical Overview
• NFC on Android

3. Introduction to NFC
• Near Field Communication
• A short-range radio technology that enables communication
between devices that either touch or are momentarily held
close together
– NFC is an open-platform technology that is being standardized in the
NFC Forum
– NFC is based on and extends on RFID. It operates on 13.56 MHz
frequency
– The NFC communication range is up to 10 cm
– The NFC standard supports different data transmission rates such as
106 kBps, 212 kBps, and 424 kBps

4. RFID

5. • NFC tag is a simple, thin device containing an antenna and a
small amount of memory
• It is a passive device, powered by a magnetic field
• Depending on the tag type, the memory can be
– Read only
– Rewritable
– Writable once
IC Antenna
RFID – TAG

6. • The reader is an active device that generates radio signals to
communicate with the tags
• The reader powers the passive device when the two are
engaged in the passive mode of communication.
RFID – Reader/ Writer

7. • NFC devices can operate in three different modes
– Read / Write
– Peer to Peer
– Card emulation
• Based on the ISO/IEC 18092, NFC IP-1, and ISO/IEC 14443
contactless smart card standards
Operation Modes

8. • The NFC-enabled phone can read or write data to any of the
supported tag types in a standard NFC data format.
Operation Modes – Read/Write

9. • In P2P mode, two NFC-enabled devices can exchange data
• Share Bluetooth or Wi-Fi link setup parameters to initiate a
Bluetooth or Wi-Fi link
• Exchange data such as virtual business cards or digital photos
• Based on the ISO/IEC 18092 standard.
Operation Modes – Peer to Peer

10. • In Card emulation mode, the phone can act as a tag or
contactless card for existing readers.
Operation Modes – Card Emulation

11. • Introduction to NFC
• Use Cases
• Technical Overview
• NFC on Android
Outline

12. Use Cases

13. Use Cases

14. Use Cases

15. Use Cases

16. Use Cases

17. • Introduction to NFC
• Use Cases
• Technical Overview
• NFC on Android
Outline

18. • NFC Tag Types
• Transition Specs
• NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF)
Technological Overview

19. • NFC Forum tag types
– Type 1 tag
– Type 2 tag
– Type 3 tag
– Type 4 tag
• NXP-specific tag type
– Type MIFARE Classic Tag
Tag Types

20. • Type 1 Tags are cost effective and ideal for many NFC
applications
– Based on ISO-14443A standard
– Read and rewrite capable; also users can configure the tag to be read-
only
– 96 bytes of memory, expandable up to 2 kB
– Communication speed 106 kbits/s
– No data collision protection
Type 1 Tag

21. • Type 2 Tags are similar to Type 1 Tags and are derived from
the NXP/Philips MIFARE Ultralight tag
– Based on ISO-14443A standard
– Read and rewrite capable; also users can configure the tag to be read-
only
– 96 bytes of memory, expandable up to 2 kB
– Communication speed 106 kbits/s
– Anti-collision support
Type 2 Tag

22. • Type 3 Tags are derived from the nonsecure parts of Sony
FeliCa tags. These tags are more expensive than Types 1 and
2
– Based on the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) X 6319-4
– Preconfigured at manufacture to be either read and rewritable, or
read-only
– Variable memory, up to 1 MB per service
– Supports two communication speeds: 212 or 424 kbits/s
– Anti-collision support
Type 3 Tag

23. • Type 4 Tags are similar to Type 1 Tags and are derived from
the NXP DESFire tag
– Based on ISO-14443A standard
– Preconfigured at manufacture to be either read and rewritable, or
read-only
– Variable memory, up to 32 kB per service
– Supports three different communication speeds: 106, 212, or 424
kbits/s
– Anti-collision support
Type 4 Tag

24. • This is a proprietary tag type defined by NXP Semiconductors
– Based on ISO-14443A standard
– Read and rewrite capable; also users can configure the tag to be read-
only
– Variable memory 192/768/3584 bytes
– Communication speed 106 kbits/s
– Anti-collision support
Type MIFARE Classic Tag

25. • ISO-14443
• NFCIP-1
• MIFARE
• FeliCa
NFC Relative Specifications

26. • ISO 14443 is a well-known international standard originally
developed for contactless chip card communication over a
13.56 MHz radio.
• ISO 14443 defines a protocol stack from the radio layer up to
a command protocol.
ISO 14443

27. • Peer-to-peer communication between two NFC devices is
made possible by mechanisms defined in the Near Field
Communication - Interface and Protocol Specification, NFCIP-
1, also known as ISO 18092 and ECMA-340
• NFCIP-1 includes two communication modes that allow an
NFC device to communicate with other NFC devices in a
peer-to-peer manner, as well as with NFCIP-1 based NFC
tags
NFCIP-1

28. • MIFARE refers to an NFC tag type developed by NXP
Semiconductors
• MIFARE tags are widely used as memory cards in
transportation applications
MIFARE

29. • FeliCa is a proprietary NFC tag technology developed by
Sony, and it is widely used in proprietary payment and
transportation applications in the Asian markets
• FeliCa tags are standardized as a Japanese industry standard.
The tags are based on the passive mode of ISO 18092, with
added authentication and encryption capabilities.
FeliCa

30. • The NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) specification defines
a message encapsulation format to exchange information
NDEF

31. NDEF

32. NDEF

33. NDEF

34. NDEF

35. NDEF

36. • Introduction to NFC
• Use Cases
• Technical Overview
• NFC on Android
Outline

37. • When a Android Device being engaged with another NFC
device, the tag dispatch system start to work
• Tag dispatch system retrieve data from another NFC device
and decide what to do according to the data
• Work closely with Android Intent and Intent Filter
NFC on Android

38. Tag
Dispatch
System
Intent
NDEFNDEF
Activity 1
<Intent Filter>
Activity 2
<Intent Filter>
Activity N
<Intent Filter>
…
generate
NFC – Read/Write

39. • ACTION_NDEF_DISCOVERED: This intent is used to start an Activity when
a tag that contains an NDEF payload is scanned and is of a recognized type.
This is the highest priority intent, and the tag dispatch system tries to start an
Activity with this intent before any other intent, whenever possible.
• ACTION_TECH_DISCOVERED: If no activities register to handle the
ACTION_NDEF_DISCOVERED intent, the tag dispatch system tries to start
an application with this intent. This intent is also directly started (without
starting ACTION_NDEF_DISCOVERED first) if the tag that is scanned
contains NDEF data that cannot be mapped to a MIME type or URI, or if the
tag does not contain NDEF data but is of a known tag technology.
• ACTION_TAG_DISCOVERED: This intent is started if no activities handle
the ACTION_NDEF_DISCOVERED or ACTION_TECH_DISCOVERED
intents
Tag Dispatch System

40. Tag Dispatch System

41. Tag Dispatch System

42. Tag Dispatch System

43. • The following example filters for
ACTION_NDEF_DISCOVERED intents with a MIME type of
text/plain:
• The following example filters for a URI in the form of
http://developer.android.com/index.html
ACTION_NDEF_DISCOVERED

44. • This example illustrates how to retrieve NDEF message from
an Intent
Obtaining Information from Intents

45. • This example encapsulate a NDEF record with URI
information
• The following is the corresponding intent filter
Obtaining Information from Intents – Absolute URI

46. • This example encapsulate a NDEF record with MIME information
• The following is equivalent to the upper example
• The following is the corresponding intent filter
Obtaining Information from Intents – MIME Media

47. • This example encapsulate a NDEF record with MIME type
text/plain data
• The following is the corresponding intent filter
TNF_WELL_KNOWN_with RTD_TEXT

48. • This example encapsulate a NDEF record with URI data
• The following is the corresponding intent filter
TNF_WELL_KNOWN_with RTD_URI

49. • This example encapsulate a NDEF record external data
• The following is the corresponding intent filter
TNF_EXTERNAL_TYPE

50. • An AAR has the package name of an application embedded
inside an NDEF record
• Android searches the entire NDEF message for AARs. If it
finds an AAR, it starts the application based on the package
name inside the AAR
• If the application is not present on the device, Google Play is
launched to download the application
Android Application Records (AAR)

51. • Introduction to NFC
• Understanding NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) messages
• Android NFC Basics
References

52. Thank you