Near Field Communication (NFC) technology has made significant advancements in recent years, and the NFC Forum, the organization that defines the standards for NFC, has recently revealed a roadmap for key research and plans for NFC through 2028. This roadmap lays out the future direction of NFC technology and highlights the exciting developments expected in the coming years.
What is NFC?
NFC is a short-range wireless communication technology that enables secure and contactless communication between devices. It allows for the exchange of data over short distances, typically a few centimeters, by simply bringing two NFC-enabled devices close together. This technology has gained popularity and is widely used in various applications such as mobile payments, access control, transportation, and more.
Over the years, NFC has experienced significant evolution and widespread adoption. It emerged as a relatively new short-range wireless connectivity technology that enabled seamless communication between NFC-enabled devices. Its simplicity and convenience quickly made it popular among users, leading to its incorporation in various applications.
According to market research reports, the NFC market size is expected to reach USD 34.9 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.2% during the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to the increasing demand for NFC chips from various industries, including healthcare and retail.
One of the key milestones in the evolution of NFC was the introduction of the NFC Forum, a global consortium consisting of leading technology companies. The NFC Forum played a crucial role in promoting the development and standardization of NFC technology, ensuring interoperability and compatibility across devices. The Forum is comprised of Board representatives from the top tech companies like Apple, Google, Huawei, Identiv, Infineon, NXP, Qualcomm, Sony, and STMicroelectronics.
What’s Exciting In The New NFC Roadmap?
The NFC Forum, recently unveiled an exciting roadmap that outlines key research and plans for the future of NFC through 2028. This roadmap promises significant advancements and improvements to NFC, making it faster, easier, and truly contactless.
Here are the proposed upgrades to the NFC technology.
More Power
NFC forum proposes to increase the wireless charging power of the NFC standard from the current 1W to an impressive 3W. Such an upgrade would unlock wireless power possibilities like bringing wireless power and charging to new and smaller form factors, and also paving the way for innovative applications in new industries that were previously not viable.
Extended Range
Additionally, the roadmap aims to make NFC fully contactless thanks to extended range capabilities, eliminating the need for physical contact between devices.
While the older version typically required devices to be extremely close to each other for communication (5mm), the new standard allows for greater distance between devices (four to six times the current operating distance) without compromising the connection quality. This will provide a more seamless and hygienic interaction, particularly in the post-pandemic era, where contactless technologies are increasingly preferred. Also, it opens up possibilities for applications in areas such as asset tracking and smart home automation, where devices can communicate over longer distances.
Support for Multi Purpose Tap
Additionally, the NFC Forum aims to introduce support for multiple purpose tap, expanding the range of applications and possibilities for NFC technology. This means that NFC will soon be able to support several actions with a single tap. This could potentially have very wide applications including point-to-point receipt delivery, loyalty identification, and total-journey ticketing.
Smartphones with NFC can Be POS Devices
This new plan aims to improve how smartphones with NFC (Near Field Communication) can work like a cash register. This means businesses or people can accept payments anywhere using their smartphones.
Improving NFC’s Sharing of Sustainability Data
The plan also includes ways for NFC to share information about what a product is made of and how it can be recycled. This is important to meet new customer needs and government rules, and it helps contribute to a greener economy.
How New NFC Standard Can Bring Exciting Applications
Looking ahead to the future, the new NFC standard expected to roll out by 2028 promises even more exciting applications. One such application is the integration of NFC technology into healthcare systems. With NFC-enabled medical devices, patients can easily monitor their vital signs and share the data with healthcare professionals. This enables remote patient monitoring, reducing the need for frequent hospital visits and enhancing overall healthcare efficiency.
Another industry that could benefit from the new NFC standard would be transportation. By better implementing NFC technology in public transportation systems, passengers can enjoy seamless ticketing (without having to go and tap on the terminal) and fare payment experiences with better security. NFC-enabled smartphones or smart cards can be used to access various modes of transportation, eliminating the need for separate tickets and reducing paper waste.
In conclusion, the latest roadmap of NFC brings significant advancements compared to the older version. With improved charging speeds, extended range capabilities, and multipurpose tap, NFC becomes even more versatile and reliable across various industries.
