NXP aim to accelerate NFC adoption in the IoT
To accelerate NFC adoption in the IoT, NXP Semiconductors have introduced the PN7120, which helps designers create innovative NFC solutions. The device enables fast exploration of new applications and use cases for IoT and the smart home including a variety of appliances and consumer electronics such as home network gateways and routers, STBs, audio devices, printers and gaming consoles.
Today, many smart home devices are based on Linux or Android. The integrated solution includes all RF communication protocols for NFC, NFC controller interface (NCI) and Linux and Android drivers to ease development. For example, integrating the PN7120 into a TV can enable convenient pairing to a router and introduce new use cases beyond traditional TV consumption such as personalised access, video on demand payment, maintenance and commissioning.
The PN7120 features an NFC contactless reader IC and embedded firmware with integrated communication protocols relevant for NFC. Through its drivers and software, the solution is optimised for Linux and Android, and easy to integrate in any other embedded OS. It uses the standardised NCI maintained by the NFC Forum, to speed integration with the system’s main controller. The PN7120 comes with SBC Demo Kit, including interface boards for the latest Raspberry Pi releases and for BeagleBone, which both belong to the standard equipment of developers.
“The IoT market is not quantified in millions of things, but tens of billions, all of which need to be connected with one another. This is where NFC comes in,” said Rafael Sotomayor, Senior Vice President, NXP Semiconductors. “We want to make it easy for developers to deliver innovative applications with NFC capabilities regardless of what development platform they may be working with. Developers and providers benefit both in cost savings and delighting customers with convenience. Pairing a Bluetooth, WiFi or ZigBee device can be just a tap away.”