NFC technology has become widely adopted in cell phones in recent years, but few people realize that it is simply a logical overlay based on RFID standards that have been around for much longer. In particular, you can use the Yocto-RFID-15693-C to write to any ISO-15693 tag specially formatted data that Type 5 NFC readers will recognize, including many cell phones.
To make it easier to use Yoctopuce RFID devices for NFC applications, we've simply added three methods to our libraries that allow you to write data compatible with NFC readers to RFID tags. You can use them either from your own program or by using our command-line library.
tagWriteUrlNFC
This method writes on the tag an NFC message that points to the specified URL. When the tag is presented to a phone, the phone automatically opens a web page at that URL (or, depending on the phone's settings, prompts the user to open the page).
It's more or less equivalent to a QR code that points to a URL, but without the user having to scan the code with their camera: they simply need to hold the tag up to their phone to open the web page. A nice marketing feature...
Here's an example of how to use this method in C#:
List<String> tagList;
do {
tagList = reader.get_tagIdList();
YAPI.Sleep(250, ref errmsg);
} while(tagList.Count <= 0);
rfidReader.tagWriteUrlNFC(tagList[0],
"https://www.yoctopuce.com/FR",
options, ref status)
print("Tag written.")
tagWriteWifiConfigNFC
This method uses one of the most useful NFC messages: the description of a Wi-Fi network configuration. When the tag written by this method is presented to a phone, the phone offers to connect to the corresponding network, without the need to tediously enter a long password.
Here is an example of how to use it in Python:
tagList = []
while len(tagList) < 1:
YAPI.Sleep(100)
tagList = rfidReader.get_tagIdList()
rfidReader.tagWriteWifiConfigNFC(tagList[0],
"GUEST_NETWORK", "WPA2", "FC0F26B2-1681-4FBC-8F0B-C2289D2ED761",
options, status)
print("Tag written.")
tagWriteBinNFC
This method writes any data block to the tag, specifying its MIME type in NFC format. Most standard data types are ignored by phones, except for one interesting exception: business cards in VCARD format. This allows you to turn an RFID tag into a magic business card: simply place it under the phone to add it to the address book.
Here is an example of command-line usage:
OK: YRFIDMK1-2846D6.rfidReader.get_tagIdList = E002516765CA437F.
C:\> YRfidReader tagWriteBinNFC E002516765CA437F text/vcard file:my_vcard.vcf ""
If you're interested in this application, be sure to pay attention to one detail in particular: a VCARD is easily 512 bytes in size, or even much larger if you include a photo. If you want the VCARD stored on the NFC card to be importable without an internet connection, you'll need to make sure to choose an RFID card with enough memory, such as one based on the ST25DV64KC or MB89R118 chip, like a Siemens MDS D400 card (2 KB). The alternative is to store only a URL on the tag that points to a vCard file hosted on your web server: this method is recognized by most phones, which also automatically offer to add the vCard to your address book.
Conclusion
These few simple applications of NFC technology are just one facet of the many possibilities offered by the Yocto-RFID-15693-C. But we must acknowledge that their potential appeal to the general public is by no means insignificant...
