The NFC Forum has announced the winners of its 2024 Awards, celebrating innovations in Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. This year's awards marked a significant shift from previous years, featuring an open public judging process that garnered a total of 60 entries from diverse industries, encompassing access control, transport, healthcare, and retail. The forum's executive director, Mike McCamon, highlighted the overarching theme of building trust among the winning entries, which include notable companies such as Blu Oberon, Erisco, IoTize, NOUMI, and ProQure.
The winners have been recognized for a range of cutting-edge applications and hardware, which aim to enhance consumer protection and engagement. Notably, ProQure's intelligent packaging solution is designed to counter vulnerabilities such as replay attacks and data sniffing. The product features the NFC IC PQ201-S, which was commercially released in the second quarter of 2024. According to ProQure’s CEO, Ami Barda, this solution enables brands to create direct channels for consumer engagement while incorporating strong anti-counterfeiting capabilities through its Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) security feature.
NOUMI has been awarded for a plug-and-play solution that facilitates access to digital receipts at the point of sale with minimal privacy concerns for consumers. Shakir Lincoln, founder of NOUMI, detailed how their system requires no integration from retailers, making it easy to implement. The multifunctional tap allows users to collect receipts and engage with loyalty programs without revealing personal information, showcasing significant environmental benefits through reduced paper usage.
Erisco's unique battery-less smart padlock emerged as another impactful innovation. By leveraging energy harvesting technology, this NFC-based padlock can authenticate users and operate through a smartphone, enabling efficient lock-out/tag-out (LOTO) procedures for industrial applications. Darryl Mitchell, CEO of Erisco, explained how their system not only enhances security through good encryption but also provides real-time data management for compliance.
Blu Oberon's Bluon Semiperdo SmartWristband is geared towards providing parental peace of mind by enabling swift communication of a child's location through a smartphone. Meanwhile, IoTize's App Creator, a low-code platform, aims to simplify custom NFC app development for developers and businesses.
McCamon underscored the importance of trust in the adoption of new technologies, stating, “If there is any doubt about the security and reliability of a product, then it’ll have a much harder time gaining traction.” He also noted that the award winners exemplify how NFC innovations can mutually benefit both consumers and providers by enhancing product reliability and offering seamless digital interactions.
This year’s NFC Forum Awards further illustrated the diverse applications of NFC technology and showcased the commitment among innovators to push the boundaries of what's possible. McCamon remarked that there continues to be a wealth of ingenuity within the NFC sector, suggesting that significant advancements and new use cases remain abundant even after two decades of NFC technology on the market. The Forum's ongoing initiatives focus on enhancing communication, expanding data exchange formats, and increasing the power and capabilities of wireless charging, indicating a promising trajectory for NFC in the business landscape.
Source: Noah Wire Services