WAKEFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The NFC Forum announced today the publication of four adopted specifications, following approval by the Board of Directors. The updated specifications enhance the device pairing and healthcare functionality of NFC services as well as optimizing performance. The NFC Forum is the world’s leading standards and advocacy association for Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
The Connection Handover Technical Specification 1.4 allows users to define additional specific services when two devices are paired together using other wireless communication technologies, such as Bluetooth or WLAN by a tap of an NFC-enabled device. The Personal Health Device Communication (PHDC) Technical Specification 1.2 defines the exchange of ISO/IEEE 11073 messages often used for personal healthcare devices such as heart, blood pressure and glucose monitors. Also, updates were made to the NFC Digital Protocol Technical Specification 2.1 and NFC Controller Interface (NCI) Technical Specification 2.1.
"The Connection Handover 1.4 and PHDC 1.2 specifications create an opportunity for solution providers to innovate and develop new NFC-enabled products in the consumer and healthcare markets," said Paula Hunter, executive director, NFC Forum. "The NFC Forum is grateful to our members who continue to enhance our global specifications for the industry to improve convenience and healthcare for all."
Connection Handover Technical Specification 1.4 For Device Pairing
Adopted
Connection
Handover Technical Specification 1.4 defines the structure and
sequence of interactions that enable two NFC devices to establish a
connection using other wireless communication technologies, such as
Bluetooth or WLAN. This specification makes it possible for solutions
providers to deploy applications that combine the simple, one-touch
set-up of NFC with the high-speed communication of Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
Connection handover also supports static handover, in which the
connection handover information is stored on an NFC tag.
Connection Handover Version 1.4 also adds the capability for an NFC device to communicate the availability of, or seek, specific services to use on alternate carriers. This capability makes it easier for the user to launch a specific service on an alternate carrier such as when an NFC phone taps a printer, the phone knows in advance what print methods that printer supports, and can prepare based on this information the optimum service to print with. Another use case is when a user of an NFC phone has the choice of either displaying a photo from the phone on the larger screen of a tablet or storing that photo file on the tablet. After making the selection, the user taps the tablet with the phone to transfer the photo via WLAN or Bluetooth and the selected action is performed with no additional action required.
The Personal Health Device Communication Technical Specification
version 1.2 Adopted
PHDC
Technical Specification version 1.2 defines the exchange of ISO/IEEE
11073 messages as they are often used for personal health devices. Its
implementation enables healthcare devices such as NFC-enabled blood
pressure monitors, heart monitors, weighing scales and glucose meters to
transmit health data easily via NFC technology for monitoring by nurses,
physicians, doctors and for home care use. With PHDC 1.2, no alternate
carrier is needed as all the information is transferred via NFC and no
additional communication channel is needed. Health monitoring devices
are advocated by healthcare providers as a way to manage chronic health
conditions and reduce healthcare costs. NFC technology supports these
use cases by making communication between health devices and NFC-enabled
phones fast, easy and intuitive. The earlier version of this
specification described communication mechanisms for personal health
devices based on the NFC Forum Type 2, 3 and 4 Tag protocols. PHDC
version 1.2 adds the communications mechanism for NFC Forum Type 5 Tag
protocol broadening the implementation choices for service providers of
future NFC-enabled Personal Health Devices.”
Digital Protocol Technical Specification 2.1 and NCI Technical
Specification 2.1 Adopted
Digital
Protocol Technical Specification 2.1 defines the digital part of the
RF protocol used by NFC devices. Support for larger RF frames for the
contactless ISO-DEP protocol compliant with ISO/IEC 14443 was added to
optimize the overall transaction time for ISO-DEP.
NCI Technical Specification 2.1 defines a standard interface within an NFC device between an NFC Controller and the device's main application processor. This recent update to version 2.1 includes optimizations to improve performance.
About the NFC Forum
The NFC Forum (www.nfc-forum.org)
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. The NFC Forum’s Sponsor members, which hold seats on
the Board of Directors, include leading players in key industries around
the world. The Sponsor members are: Apple Inc., Dai Nippon Printing Co.
Ltd., Google, Inc., Infineon, Intel, MasterCard Worldwide, NXP
Semiconductors, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Corporation, STMicroelectronics,
and Visa Inc.
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