Analysis of characteristics of NFC compared with RFID

Recently, the mobile payment service based on the NFC standard will be promoted and expanded in the second half of 2011 under the joint promotion of the People's Bank of China, China UnionPay and operators. Including Google and Microsoft are investing heavily in NFC technology research and development. Apple also said it is expected to have built-in NFC functionality on its fifth-generation iPhone smartphone.

As an evolution of RFID technology, NFC has advantages over RFID and is so popular with mobile phone manufacturers and operators. Let us interpret them one by one.

NFC definition

NFC is the abbreviation of Near Field Communication, which is short-range wireless communication technology. Developed jointly by Philips and Sony, NFC is a contactless identification and interconnect technology for close-range wireless communication between mobile devices, consumer electronics, PCs and smart control tools. NFC provides a simple, touch-enabled solution that allows consumers to easily and intuitively exchange information and access content and services.

RFID and NFC differences

First, NFC integrates contactless readers, contactless cards, and peer-to-peer functions into a single chip, and rfid must consist of readers and tags. RFID can only read and judge information, while NFC technology emphasizes information interaction. Popularly speaking, NFC is an evolved version of RFID, and both parties can exchange information at close range. The current NFC mobile phone has a built-in NFC chip that forms part of the RFID module and can be used as an RFID passive tag for payment; it can also be used as an RFID reader for data exchange and collection, and also between NFC phones. data communication.

Second, the NFC transmission range is smaller than that of RFID. The transmission range of RFID can reach several meters or even tens of meters. However, because NFC adopts a unique signal attenuation technology, NFC has a close distance, high bandwidth and low energy consumption compared with RFID. Features.

Third, the application direction is different. At present, NFC is more concerned with the communication of consumer electronic devices, and active RFID is better at long-distance identification. RFID is more widely used in production, logistics, tracking, and asset management, while NFC plays a huge role in the fields of access control, public transportation, and mobile payment.

With the popularity of the Internet of Things, mobile phones as the most direct intelligent terminal of the Internet of Things will inevitably lead to a technological revolution. As with the previous Bluetooth, USB, GPS and other standard, NFC will become the most important standard for mobile phones in the future. NFC technology, mobile payment, movie watching, and subway rides will all play a bigger role in our daily lives.