Hi all,
I'm new to this forum. I registered here because I'm looking into NFC tags to try and create a certain project... So I would like to pick your brains to see if what I 'm looking to do is possible and if so what it would take...
I'm basically looking if I can use NFC tags in a mentalist effect as I'm into magic as a form of entertainment.
I would like to apply NFC tags to a bunch of small items that are displayed in front of me, all within range of my phone (or if need be another NFC reader). Then, while I am not looking, I would like one of my spectators to pick up any object they choose so the rest of the audience can also clearly see what object has been chosen. Yet by doing that, the chosen object would go out of range for the NFC reader. Obviously the spectator would then place the object back where it was. he or she would also be allowed to slightly move all other objects so it wouldn't be obvious which one was picked, as only one object is not in the exact same spot it started in...
I was hoping that there is a way for an NFC reader to scan multiple NFC tags in a reasonable amount of time and then also detect which tag isn't there anymore when the spectator shows the chosen object to the audience. Because that would then give me the chosen object. (the way I see it with my very limited knowledge by scanning all NFC tags within range and comparing that to a database that holds all tags that should be there. This should result in one that's missing)
So, is the above possible? Can NFC technology be used to scan a known library of tags and then identify the single tag that is missing?
If so: what are the limits? How many tags can be scanned let's say within 30 seconds? (like 5, or 50 or 100?) I truly have no idea.
What reader and tags would I need? How would I be able to have the NFC app tell me what tag is missing? Can this be an audio message I can receive through an earpiece?
What would be the maximum area all remaining objects should be in for the reader to be able to pick all of them up?
Is there a minimum distance needed between the tags to be able to read all individual tags or can they be very close together?
Any other constraints I missed?
Thanks a lot for letting me know,
Kind regards,
Peter
Related
So was anyone able to scan any NFC tags?
some stores has NFC payments enabled, some movie posters or stuff like that has NFC chip build in
in some countries there's NFC tickets for the bus/subway
so, it all really depends how popular or not it's in the are where you live
not even all USA cities are that high tech
I've heard that NYC taxis and some pharmacies and such there support NFC. But I've also heard that the phone's software isn't really setup to use the NFC yet. I know that Sprint and the Google Nexus S 4G have Google Wallet hooked up to their NFC.
I don't know that TMO has a deal with Google Wallet. Are they part of that Isis group?
I've successfully scanned my SFO Clipper card which uses NFC. Pretty cool.
The venture is now developing provisioning systems that will allow existing payments services to be added to any NFC phone owned by a subscriber to any of the Isis founder's mobile networks, says Johnson — and Isis already has a number of banks ready and willing to pay for this service. "When we launch next year we will launch with multiple banks," he explained.
http://www.nfcworld.com/2011/05/24/37652/isis-sets-out-new-nfc-strategy/
I've been testing krohnjw's NFC Task Launcher app. I must say it's pretty damn awesome! It lets you set tags up for doing different tasks. I'll make a video sometime, he has some on his development page. You can set a tag to enable wifi, for example. One idea I had was to use his app to set your phone to toggle bluetooth when you place the phone in your car dock for example. Very neat stuff!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=980741
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.jwsoft.nfcactionlauncher
mziol said:
I've been testing krohnjw's NFC Task Launcher app. I must say it's pretty damn awesome! It lets you set tags up for doing different tasks. I'll make a video sometime, he has some on his development page. You can set a tag to enable wifi, for example. One idea I had was to use his app to set your phone to toggle bluetooth when you place the phone in your car dock for example. Very neat stuff!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=980741
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.jwsoft.nfcactionlauncher
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Cool stuff, time to buy some NFC tags.
http://www.tagstand.com/
http://www.buynfctags.com/
http://www.tagage.net/
I'm still looking for the best price on cheap tags to mess around with. I've also read there is some confusion around the net as to which tags will work with our phones/phones in general.
NFC Tags, what works, what does not
I've got two TMO SGS2s, so I did some NFC testing the other night. Here is what I found:
1) Creating a text tag works. Reading it from another phone works. But when read, it put the text into a new post in the Google+ app. Not really what I imagined wanting to do with an NFC tag that I read.
2) Sharing Google maps locations over NFC seems to work. But again when reading the tag, the text and URL is opened up as text in a new Google+ posting.
3) Web page URLs. I used Dolphin HD to share a few web pages. Reading the tag properly brought up the website. This one feature seems to be more or less fully operational.
4) Sharing contacts over NFC did not appear to work at all. It is an option when creating a new tag in the Tags app, but we couldn't get it to work for any type of contact.
Are you able to read arbitrary RFID tags using the T-Mobile Galaxy S 2? I've tried on several different types of RFID tags with no success (NFC was indeed enabled when I tried):
-Passport
-Building entry badge
-DC Metro SmarTrip card
I've tried using the included "Tags" application, in addition to "NFC Reader" and "NFC TagInfo".
Oddly enough, I stopped by my local T-Mobile store, and the representative told me that he was unable to transfer URLs or random tags (or contact information, as you stated) between two Galaxy S 2 devices, or between a T-Mobile Galaxy S 2 and an HTC Amaze. (We then played around with the devices a bit in an attempt to get something working, but to no avail.)
Splaktar said:
I've got two TMO SGS2s, so I did some NFC testing the other night. Here is what I found:
1) Creating a text tag works. Reading it from another phone works. But when read, it put the text into a new post in the Google+ app. Not really what I imagined wanting to do with an NFC tag that I read.
2) Sharing Google maps locations over NFC seems to work. But again when reading the tag, the text and URL is opened up as text in a new Google+ posting.
3) Web page URLs. I used Dolphin HD to share a few web pages. Reading the tag properly brought up the website. This one feature seems to be more or less fully operational.
4) Sharing contacts over NFC did not appear to work at all. It is an option when creating a new tag in the Tags app, but we couldn't get it to work for any type of contact.
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I haven't tried reading any physical tags. Only between 2 different NFC enabled phones.
I did a whole bunch of research with the Nexus S NFC reader - and so far as I can tell, the SGSIIX has the same capabilities.
I have a bunch of blank 1K, 4K and Ultralite MiFARE tags that are AWESOME to play with. Even just putting your contact card on there, or URLs (you can do anything with a URL) is tons of fun to play with. They don't read proprietary NFC implementations without special software - only tags encoded with an NDEF structure will be automagically picked up by Android.
The good stuff is coming up - I'm 98% sure that Zoompass is coming out with an Android app compatible with the QuickPay/Interact-Flash readers. Next year, pay for small crap with your phone!
Hi,
I am a proud new owner of galaxy nexus, and I want to buy an NFC tag.
Question is, is there any specific type of nfc tag that I have to buy for it to work with my phone?
P.S. This is my first post and I just registered a couple of minutes ago, that video was pretty hilarious.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=21447200
good day.
the thing is, I am in Australia and I would like to buy it from Australia for faster shipping, I read through that topic you sent me, and people mention about tagstand which is in US.
so in general, does any type of NFC work? or is there any specific criteria that I have to look on before I buy it?
You can also use old or not editable tags with an app called NFC ReTag. I use my student card for silent-settings
The tags have a certain amount of memory, but I can't tell you how much you need. Stuff like "set Wifi on, GPS off, vibrate only" won't need much so any tag will be fine.
I was able to write and read all of the tag types included in the starter kit from tagstand using "NFC Task Launcher". So if you note the tag types included in the kit and find them elsewhere, you should be good to go. One thing to note is the amount of storage each one provides. The smaller ones won't hold complex multi-step operations.
One other caveat is that my phone is the Google Play US GSM version running 4.0.4. I believe older versions of the OS may have had problems with some tags. Good luck!
Regarding tag size -- if you have both NFC Task Launcher and Tasker, you can create a Tasker task of any size/complexity, and use NFC Task Launcher to launch it. The benefit of this is you can use the smallest size tag with an arbitrary sized task. The drawback is it will only work on your phone, another person's phone won't be able to utilize it unless he too has the Tasker task setup.
I am an IT consultant and would like to figure out a way to log systems as they are visited for maintenance with NFC tags. I figure what better way than to simply put NFC tags in\on the machines and simply tap phone or tablet to it to log it as serviced. So here are my questions
Is there any way to program the tags with specific ID's for each system?
Is there software that will track these things?
What apps would be best for this kind of use?
I would love to know about this as well .
I know that u can use a phone with a bluethooth serial code reader and manage inventory that way...but NFC is much better in my opinion
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda app-developers app
Inventory
I did this with QR and Bar codes although a bit archaic i would also like to explore this option further
nerdslogic said:
I am an IT consultant and would like to figure out a way to log systems as they are visited for maintenance with NFC tags. I figure what better way than to simply put NFC tags in\on the machines and simply tap phone or tablet to it to log it as serviced. So here are my questions
Is there any way to program the tags with specific ID's for each system?
Is there software that will track these things?
What apps would be best for this kind of use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rixking said:
I did this with QR and Bar codes although a bit archaic i would also like to explore this option further
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm no IT or inventory expert, but going along with your idea of QR codes, I did notice that the NXP TagWriter app has an option to convert QR codes into an NFC data set and store it on an NFC item. With that in mind, you could take your existing QR codes, scan and convert them into NFC tags. I'm not sure if scanning the tag would bring
I think another potential option is to store the barcode number as plain text, which can also be done within the NXP TagWriter app.
Note, you'll have to enable professional mode from the preferences before the QR and plain text options will appear.
nerdslogic said:
I am an IT consultant and would like to figure out a way to log systems as they are visited for maintenance with NFC tags. I figure what better way than to simply put NFC tags in\on the machines and simply tap phone or tablet to it to log it as serviced. So here are my questions
Is there any way to program the tags with specific ID's for each system?
Is there software that will track these things?
What apps would be best for this kind of use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm off the IT line for a long time already, php was the last thing i did. But some simple ideas pop-up. since its not out there, than built it sort of thing.
Is there any way to program the tags with specific ID's for each system?
yas, just use tagwriter and write tags with http address and an id at the end.
Is there software that will track these things?
local web server to catch input, ruby or php are simple enough. since you must have already registers an id for a tag for the job.
tags that have a web address and an id will be enough to do tracking. reports are printed from a computer anyway.
What apps would be best for this kind of use?
stock browser.
can do same thing with QR code.
Hi,
I just thought of an idea and would like to see if NFC tags are good for this.
I volunteer at a family clinic and notice that a lot of time are spent on finding a patient's folder, we have maybe 6000 folders. Would tagging the folders with a NFC tag be applicable in this sense? One would just have to wave the phone slowly to see if a patient's folder were looking for is in that stack/shelf. Is there a way to make it so that only only certain NFC tags will pop up on my phone?
Thanks,
I'm sorry to tell you this, but I think you're out of luck for a few reasons:
1. NFC tags can only be accessed from a few cm awa. Most probably 5-10 folders would make up for those few cm (not including the signal absorbtion of the folders) and you woulnd't be abble to communicate with the deeper tags.
2. If you have two tags stacked, the phone wouldn't detect any of them. It will power both, both will start sending and the phone will not be able to understand any of them.
Sorry, but I think you'll have to find other sorting methods, but any that I could think of implies peoples' discipline.
Cheers!
Please take a moment to read through this before posting, not only is a brief description of NFC and some of its uses included but also you will find a few of the more commonly asked questions. Over time these will be added to accommodate new or recurring queries that are being seen in this thread. If you have come to the thread to ask about emulating, copying or bypassing your Mifare card head down to the FAQs below .
What Is NFC
Near Field Communication (NFC) is a technology that was built upon Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). It allows for the storage of data without the need for a direct power supply. When a reader such as a NFC enabled phone comes within range (usually an inch or less) data can be read/written from/to the tag.
Objects containing NFC can be found in two varieties, active or passive. Passive devices are ones that contains data but do not read and generally will not have their own power supply. These are found in NFC tags such as those in Credit/Debit cards, Student or ID cards, Library books and passports among many. For a much larger of scannable objects see here. Their are also active devices, these can read information stored on other NFC devices and for the majority of us here these will be our phones. These active devices can also usually alter the data found on tags or transmit/exchange data with other active devices.
Uses for NFC
NFC has many uses both commercial and on a development/hobby level, here are just a few:
Contactless payment
Transfer of data from phone to phone
Share and log on to WI-FI
Sharing contact information
Automating tasks
Storing bitcoin wallets
Disabling alarms
Send Wake-On-Lan commands
FAQs
How can I emulate, copy, edit or bypass my Mifare card (student ID, work ID, Bus pass etc)?
The short answer: you can't
The long answer: There are numerous reasons why you may have had issues finding this information on XDA. Primarily because it is not possible from the vast majority of phones and for good reason. Mifare as mentioned above is a security layer for NFC cards and therefore the process isn't as simple as just downloading an app, scanning a security card and then forgetting about it. Secondly depending on the type of tag you are trying to use this is either A) illegal or B) against your companies, service provider, school's security policy and as such you will not find this information on XDA.
Your options from here are: look elsewhere for this information, just use your card as instructed or speak to your IT department about adding another form of NFC tag to the system, I for instance have an NFC tag implanted in my hand which my IT department was more than happy to add to my user profile at university. More information on this can be found here.
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How can I hack my Bus pass, Oyster card etc to add more credit or extend its expiration date?
See the answer above ^
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How can I unlock my Android phone using NFC
See "NFC LockscreenOffEnabler" for Xposed
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How can I make Android trigger an event when I scan an NFC tag?
For simple commands you can use apps such as NFC Tools or Trigger.
For more complicated tasks a combination of Tasker and Locale can be used to launch just about any chain of events upon finding a specific tag. Of course alternatives do exist, so be sure to check out a few of the other projects around the site
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