Pernod Ricard launches a connected glass with Havana Club — Pernod Ricard — “The glass is equipped with an NFC chip that allows the consumer to order a cocktail in a bar… At home, the same technology gives the user access to the ‘Cocktail Club’ web app to find ideas for cocktails, recipes, shopping list based on the ingredients the user already has at home and the number of guests, etc.”
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Adidas Soccer uses NFC to link special edition trainers to Spotify
Adidas celebrates Atlanta and the 2018 Major League Soccer All-Star Game presented by Target with speciality Speedfactory AM4MLS lifestyle shoe — Adidas — “The AM4MLS shoe will be the first of its kind to bring the sound of the city to life through an embedded NFC chip enabling the owner to access a Spotify playlist curated by Rich The Kid. Deeply rooted in Atlanta’s culture, the 21 songs aim to pay tribute to the city’s rich music history and its influence in artists across the country.”
Alibaba invests in NFC product authentication for brands
E-commerce giant Alibaba has invested in NFC and RFID specialist Smartrac Technology Group and taken a seat on the company’s board... More
Adidas includes NFC chip in official match ball for knockout stage of 2018 Fifa World Cup
Adidas Football reveals official match ball for the knockout stage of the 2018 Fifa World Cup Russia — Fifa — “The Telstar 18 and Telstar Mechta feature an embedded NFC chip… The chip enables consumers to interact with the ball using a smartphone. Upon interaction, each ball generates a unique identifier, unlocking exclusive content and information for the user. The personalised and location-aware experience displays specific details of each ball and provides access to challenges.”
ST launches Type 5 NFC tag chips with tamper detection and privacy features
PARTNER NEWS: STMicroelectronics has launched a family of NFC tag chips that can be read by both NFC phones and commercial RFID readers and incorporate tamper detection, anti-cloning, data protection and user privacy features... More
Researchers aim to print edible RFID tags directly on to food
Graphene on toast, anyone? — Rice University — “The Rice lab of chemist James Tour, which once turned Girl Scout cookies into graphene, is investigating ways to write graphene patterns onto food and other materials to quickly embed conductive identification tags and sensors into the products themselves… ‘This is not ink,’ Tour said. ‘This is taking the material itself and converting it into graphene.'”
Nintendo and Kellogg’s add NFC tags to cereal boxes
Special edition Super Mario Cereal boxes with integrated NFC tags are to begin shipping in the US on 11 December... More
Indola adds NFC tags to professional hair styling products
Henkel launches NFC pilot with Indola #SimplySmarter — Henkel Adhesive Technologies — “With a volume of 100,000 products to be rolled out in 35 different countries, Indola #SimplySmarter is one of the largest NFC pilots in the beauty care market to date… Professional hairstylists can simply tap the Indola product with a NFC-enabled smartphone and a landing page pops up immediately. It displays product information, how-to videos by celebrity ambassadors, and most importantly, a curated Instagram wall that is refreshed regularly to inspire and connect professional hairstylists all over the world.”
Adidas includes NFC chip in official Fifa World Cup football
2018 FIFA World Cup official match ball unveiled: an exciting re-imagining — FIFA — “Telstar 18 features a brand new carcass, high technology and sustainable elements such as recycled packaging. It also includes an embedded NFC chip, which enables consumers to interact with the ball using a smartphone. The personalised and location-aware experience displays specific details of each ball and provides access to challenges which users can enter in the run-up to the Fifa World Cup.”
NXP releases IoT microcontroller with NFC and energy harvesting
NXP integrates NFC technology into LPC800 series microcontrollers revolutionizing smart tagging in IoT applications — NXP — PARTNER NEWS — “Offering an integrated near field communications (NFC) interface with energy-harvesting capability, the LPC8N04 MCU is optimized to address the growing need for cost-effective, short-range two-way wireless communication… The LPC8N04 MCU enables developers to quickly implement broad-based solutions that leverage system diagnostics or environmental conditions for a smarter tagging experience.
NFC Forum certifies NFC tag chips from STMicroelectronics
PARTNER NEWS: Three STMicroelectronics ST25 NFC tag chips have been certified for performance and interoperability under the NFC Forum’s new NFC tag certification program, which is designed to ensure “consistent, compelling, and connected user experiences” across NFC tags, readers and handsets... More
M-Pesa rolls out contactless tags and wristbands for faster mobile money transactions in stores
Safaricom extends M-Pesa 1Tap — Safaricom — “Following successful trials over the last four months in Nakuru, Safaricom has today announced the availability of M-Pesa 1Tap in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret and Nyeri… To make a payment, a merchant will key in the payment amount into their device, tap the customer tag, and the customer will then key in their pin on their phone to validate the payment. This cuts down the steps involved from more than eight steps using the M-Pesa tool on SIM cards to just one step for the customer.”
GlaxoSmithKline puts NFC tags on store shelves
Thinfilm and GlaxoSmithKline bring NFC technology to leading over-the-counter brand Flonase — Thinfilm — “GSK introduced interactive ‘smart’ Flonase shelves in retail stores across Canada in an effort to educate consumers about the new product and guide them in their purchasing decision… The cloud-based platform integrates with the NFC hardware, enabling GSK to manage tags remotely, deliver custom messaging and content, view real-time consumer tapping activity, and develop valuable consumer insights through built-in analytics functionality.”
NXP releases NFC tag toolkit for iOS
PARTNER NEWS: NXP has announced a toolkit designed to make it easy for iOS 11 developers to take advantage of the NFC tag reading capabilities that are now supported by iPhones and unlock “the potential to now connect billions of consumer and industrial products to the Internet of Things (IoT)”... More
Nest lets home owners use NFC tags to share access to home security system
Nest expands into home security with first security system designed to be easy on residents, tough on intruders — Nest — “Nest Tag is a convenient fob that can attach to a keychain, allowing you to easily arm and disarm Nest Secure without a passcode. Nest Tags are easy to share with family members and trusted people who regularly enter the home, like dog walkers.”
NFC Forum launches tag certification program
NFC Forum adds NFC tag certification to certification program — NFC Forum — “Tag/inlay, NFC reader and handset manufacturers for the first time will be able to test and verify the performance and interoperability of all the key components in the NFC ecosystem. Certification will help ensure that NFC tags, readers and handsets provide consistent, compelling and connected user experiences.”
Apple releases iOS 11 with support for NFC tag reading
iOS 11 is now available to download — The Verge — “Today, Apple pushed out the final version of iOS 11, its latest mobile operating system release. Most iPhone and iPad units made in the last few years should be capable of downloading it now if you head over to the Settings panel and check for a software update under the General tab. For those who have been part of either the developer or public beta process, you’ll likely already have the finalized iOS 11 and shouldn’t need to do anything.”
Nike to connect with basketball fans via NFC tags in NBA jerseys
Nike and NBA introduce new statement edition uniform, first on-court hooded jacket and the first NBA Connected Jersey, the future of fan apparel — Nike — “Using new NikeConnect technology, each adult-sized Nike NBA Connected Jersey will have an embedded NFC chip that will launch real-time team and player content such as pregame arrival footage, highlight packages and top players’ favorite music playlists — all on the jersey owner’s mobile device. Throughout the season, a wealth of exclusive offers and experiences will bring fans closer to the game they love.”
Apple to ship iOS 11 with NFC tag reading support on 19 September
Apple has revealed that it will ship iOS 11 on 19 September 2017, bringing with it the ability for iPhones to read NFC tags for the first time... More
New interactive technology to trace your food from field to fork
New interactive technology to trace your food from field to fork — Soil Association — “Using three types of labels and identifiers; barcode, QR code and NFC tags, shoppers simply scan or hover their smart phones to find out the unique journey behind their food. This includes information about its origin, ingredients, and any special attributes such as organic, gluten-free, dairy-free etc. Photos of the product’s creation, as well as farmer or producer profiles can be viewed too.”