Open NFC Announced

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Near Field Communications is a technology that can potentially change how mobile phones interact with each other and other devices in close proximity. However, NFC has not gained ground yet. Open NFC might just make NFC more popular.

NFC lets mobile devices communicate within close proximity. Unlike other wireless technologies like Bluetooth and WiFi, though, an NFC link can be activated just by proximity (say, by touching one phone with another). This can make a handful of applications easier, like mobile payments, exchange of contact information, and the like. However, even if NFC is a relatively old technology, it hasn’t caught on yet.

One reason why NFC uptake is low is the likelihood that there will be many different fragmented and closed standards. This might result in one manufacturer using different specifications from another, which makes communication limited. A new Open NFC standard might help solve this.

Open NFC relies on a separate, very thin and easily adaptable hardware abstraction software layer, which accounts for a very small percentage of the total stack code, meaning that the Open NFC software stack can be easily leveraged for different NFC chip hardware.

The Open NFC standard would ensure that any hardware manufacturer or software used will be compatible with each other. It is hoped that having a more open standard will make it easier for manufacturers to include NFC in phones, which will lead to a wider adoption of the technology.