White Paper Document

Topic: What’s best for your new solution: NFC, Bluetooth or RFID?

Submitted By:

Matellio LLC 675 North First Street,

Suite 1240, San Jose, CA 95112

Submitted by Team: Techno Crates

TECH EVENT II

"White Paper Competition"

A white paper is an article that states an organization's position or philosophy about a

social, political, or other subject, or a not-too-detailed technical explanation of an

architecture, framework, or product technology. Typically, a white paper explains the

results, conclusions, or construction resulting from some organized committee or

research collaboration or design and development effort.

Our topic is “What’s best for your new solution: NFC, Bluetooth or RFID?”

So we will discuss NFC, Bluetooth and RFID one by one and then compare them

to conclude what’s best.

TABLE OF CONTENT

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) 4

How RFID Works ? 4

RFID Applications (uses) 5

Common Problems with RFID 6

NFC (Near Field Communication) 6

How NFC Works ? 6

NFC Applications (uses) 8

Common Problems with NFC 8

Bluetooth 9

How Bluetooth Works ? 9

Bluetooth applications (uses) 10

Common Problems with Bluetooth 10

Comparison With Existing Technologies 11

Conclusion 14

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)

RFID stands for Radio-Frequency IDentification. The acronym refers to small

electronic devices that consist of a small chip and an antenna. The chip typically is

capable of carrying 2,000 bytes of data or less.

RFID devices use radio frequency waves to communicate. The common method

used to identify person/object is to use serial number for each tags. Other information

can also be customized as per the requirement.

Fig : RFID Chip

How RFID Works ?

Fig - How RFID Work ?

The RFID tag usually will have smaller micro-chip along with the antenna. The

RFID tags communicate with the reader with the help of antenna. The reader converts

reflected or transmitted information from tags to useful digital information which can be

further processed by software running in the computer. RFID works on different

frequency bands, mainly in UHF frequency range. The below figure show the small chip

of RFID

RFID Applications (uses)

Fig : RFID Application(Uses)

The above fig. shows that RFID technology is used almost in everywhere in our daily

life.

Common Problems with RFID

● Reader collision

● Tag collision

Reader collision occurs when the signals from two or more readers overlap. Tag

collision occurs when many tags are present in a small area; but since the read time is

very fast, it is easier for vendors to develop systems that ensure that tags respond one

at a time.

NFC (Near Field Communication)

NFC is a short-range high frequency wireless communication technology

that enables the exchange of data between devices over about a 10 cm distance.

NFC is an upgrade of the existing proximity card standard (RFID) that

combines the interface of a smartcard and a reader into a single device. It allows

users to seamlessly share content between digital devices, pay bills wirelessly or

even use their cellphone as an electronic traveling ticket on existing contactless

infrastructure already in use for public transportation

How NFC Works ?

NFC requires at least one transmitting device, and another to receive the signal.

There are three operational modes in NFC technology as shown in below fig -

NFC Applications (uses)

Fig : NFC Application(Uses)

The above fig. shows that NFC devices are used in contactless payment

systems, similar to those used in credit cards and electronic ticket smartcards and allow

mobile payment to replace/supplement these systems. NFC is used for social

networking for sharing contacts, photos, videos or files.

Common Problems with NFC

● Data Corruption and Manipulation

● Theft

● Interception Attacks

● Eavesdropping

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a global wireless communication standard that connects devices

together over a certain distance. Think headset and phone, speaker and PC, basketball

to smartphone and more. It is built into billions of products on the market today and

connects the Internet of Things (IoT).

How Bluetooth Works ?

A Bluetooth device uses radio waves instead of wires or cables to connect to a

phone or computer. The Bluetooth standard is based upon a master/slave operational

mode. A piconet is a network of devices connected using Bluetooth technology. The

network ranges from two to eight connected devices. When a network is established,

one device takes the role of the master while all the other devices act as slaves.

Piconets are established dynamically and automatically as Bluetooth devices enter and

leave radio proximity.

Bluetooth applications (uses)

Fig : Bluetooth Application(Uses)

The above fig. shows that Bluetooth products are used in PC, mobiles, cars, health

cares, entertainment devices, i.e today bluetooth is used almost everywhere in our daily

life.

Common Problems with Bluetooth

● Make sure Bluetooth is turned on

● Determine which pairing process your device employs

● Turn on discoverable mode

● Make sure the two devices are in close enough proximity to one another

● Power the devices off and back on

● Power down likely interferers

● Charge up both devices you're trying to pair

● Delete a device from a phone and rediscover it

● Get away from the Wi-Fi router

Comparison With Existing Technologies

The table below shows the basic comparison between these technologies -

Specification

NFC

RFID

Bluetooth

Maximum

Coverage Range

10cm

3meter

100meter

Frequency of

operation

13.56MHz

varies

2.4GHz

Communication

2-way

1-way

2-way

Data rate

106,212,4

24Kbps

varies

22Mbps

Applications

credit card

related

payments,

e-ticket

booking

EZ-Pass,

tracking

items

communication between

phone and peripherals

We can see difference between these device in the image below-

Conclusion

Every technology has it places for itself. NFC can be called as the next

generation of RFID as technically its working principle is based on RFID however

from application point of view it is similar to Bluetooth in some ways since it allows

communication between two active devices.

Bluetooth is an old technology for data transfer and is widely available in all

phones now days, you can also found computer accessories like Bluetooth mouse,

speaker and keyboard etc. Whereas NFC is relatively new technology and can

used for data transfer as well but since it has less speed than Bluetooth and no

pairing require, it is better to use it to transfer small files like images and link to

webpages.

Using NFC tags, we can make life much easier. They can be used for small

automation tasks like turning WiFi ON/OFF by simply taping the tags on the phone.

NFC technology are also used for making payments for products, by holding the

phone close to a reader terminal.

NFC technology is not yet popular like Bluetooth but with more NFC phones

in the market. We will soon see more of this in future.

Citation

● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio-frequency_identification

● http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/technology-article.asp

● http://www.gsmarena.com/glossary.php3?term=nfc

● http://www.androidauthority.com/what-is-nfc-270730/

● http://www.infoworld.com/article/2607039/mobile-technology/mobile-t

echnology-6-cool-uses-of-near-field-communication.html#slide1

● http://lifehacker.com/5943006/what-is-nfc-and-how-can-i-use-it

● https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth

● https://www.bluetooth.com/what-is-bluetooth-technology/bluetooth-tec

hnology-basics

● https://www.quora.com/How-does-Bluetooth-work-What-is-the-scienc

e-behind-it

Note: All the images belongs to their respective owners, & we thanks

them for making them available over internet.