Press release

NFC Forum Enhances Connectivity of IoT Devices with New and Updated Specifications

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The NFC
Forum
announced today the publication of the new Tag
NFC Data Exchange Format Exchange Protocol Candidate
Specification
(TNEP) and a new candidate version of its popular Connection
Handover Technical Specification
(CH 1.5).

The TNEP candidate specification is the first of its kind to simplify
the bidirectional exchange of data between an NFC-enabled phone and an IoT
device
. When combined with the TNEP, CH 1.5 enables new Near Field
Communication (NFC), Bluetooth and Wi-Fi negotiated handover products
and solutions. Together, the two specifications offer an ideal solution
for microcontroller-based designs for IoT devices.

“With the release of the TNEP and CH 1.5 candidate specifications, the
connectivity opportunities for IoT device manufacturers expand
significantly,” said Koichi Tagawa, chairman, NFC Forum. “This will
enable consumers and business users to quickly and easily benefit from a
growing range of IoT devices using NFC’s easy one-tap paradigm.”

Both candidate specifications are available for industry review before
they are validated and adopted by the NFC Forum and available for
general use. For more information or to comment on the candidate
specifications, click here.

TNEP Candidate Specification is Industry First

For the first time, IoT device manufacturers can now use components
implementing the protocol for tag communication to create more
cost-efficient designs. TNEP
is based on the standard procedure to read and write to an NFC
Forum tag
meaning that all NFC-enabled smartphones allowing their
apps to read and write tags are capable of supporting TNEP using an app.
These apps are able to establish a bidirectional NFC communication link
to IoT devices without the need to implement the Logical
Link Control Protocol
(LLCP) for peer-to-peer communication (P2P).

Bidirectional communication with IoT devices means NFC-enabled
smartphones can read the actual state from the IoT device (e.g., the
actual title of music played) and can change the configuration of the
IoT device by write access (e.g., to adjust the volume or to switch to
the next audio file). It can be used, for example, to configure an audio
system, digital camera, lightning system, smart meter or radiator valve.
This protocol can also be used where P2P is not implemented, for
example, on existing NFC readers that do not support P2P mode.

Connection Handover Specification Sparks New Solutions With
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi

The first NFC Forum candidate specification to take advantage of this
new TNEP definition is the updated version of the NFC
Forum Connection Handover Technical Specification
(CH 1.5).
Previously, negotiated handover could only occur over a peer-to-peer
connection. CH 1.5 can now use TNEP to allow an additional negotiated
handover for a connection between a reader/writer and NFC tag device
providing users more control over how they gather and share their
information between devices, thereby increasing the security of paired
connections.

By defining the messaging structure for how negotiated handover operates
with a reader/writer and an NFC tag device, CH 1.5 creates the
possibility for the development of new solutions pairing NFC with
Bluetooth or Wi-Fi when the data to be transferred is large or streamed
for a long time (e.g., Bluetooth audio streaming between a smartphone
and a speaker or headset, streaming session between a smartphone and a
TV, or transfer of a photo between a digital camera or a smartphone over
Wi-Fi).

About the NFC Forum

The NFC
Forum
was launched as a non-profit industry association in 2004 by
leading mobile communications, semiconductor, and consumer electronics
companies. The Forum’s mission is to advance the use of Near Field
Communication technology by developing specifications, ensuring
interoperability among devices and services, and educating the market
about NFC technology. The Forum’s global member companies are currently
developing specifications for a modular NFC device architecture, and
protocols for interoperable data exchange and device-independent service
delivery, device discovery and device capability. Only member companies
can participate in the Forum’s certification program of NFC devices,
readers and tags.

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