An Indoor Guidance System Combining Near Field Communication and Bluetooth Low Energy Beacon Technologies

Users rely increasingly on Location-Based Services (LBS) and automated navigation/guidance systems nowadays. However, while such services are easily implemented in outdoor environments using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, a requirement still exists for accurate localization and guidance schemes in indoor settings. Accordingly, the present study presents a methodology based on GPS, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons, and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. Through establishing graphic information and the design of algorithm, this study develops a guidance system for indoor and outdoor on smartphones, with aim to provide users a smart life through this system. The presented system is implemented on a smartphone and evaluated on a student campus environment. The experimental results confirm the ability of the presented app to switch automatically from an outdoor mode to an indoor mode and to guide the user to the requested target destination via the shortest possible route.

A System Functions Set-Up through Near Field Communication of a Smartphone

We present a method to set up system functions through a near filed communication (NFC) of a smartphone. The short communication distance of the NFC which is usually less than 4 cm could prevent any interferences from other devices and establish a secure communication channel between a system and the smartphone. The proposed set-up method for system function values is demonstrated for a blacbox system in a car. In demonstration, system functions of a blackbox which is manipulated through NFC of a smartphone are controls of image quality, sound level, shock sensing level to store images, etc. The proposed set-up method for system function values can be used for any devices with NFC.

Touching Interaction: An NFC-RFID Combination

AmI proposes a new way of thinking about computers, which follows the ideas of the Ubiquitous Computing vision of Mark Weiser. In these, there is what is known as a Disappearing Computer Initiative, with users immersed in intelligent environments. Hence, technologies need to be adapted so that they are capable of replacing the traditional inputs to the system by embedding these in every-day artifacts. In this work, we present an approach, which uses Radiofrequency Identification (RFID) and Near Field Communication (NFC) technologies. In the latter, a new form of interaction appears by contact. We compare both technologies by analyzing their requirements and advantages. In addition, we propose using a combination of RFID and NFC.

User Behavior Based Enhanced Protocol (UBEP) for Secure Near Field Communication

With increase in the unauthorized users access, it is required to increase the security in the Near Field Communication (NFC). In the paper we propose a user behavior based enhanced protocol entitled ‘User Behavior based Enhanced Protocol (UBEP)’ to increase the security in NFC enabled devices. The UBEP works on the history of interaction of a user with system.The propose protocol considers four different factors (touch, time and distance & angle) of user behavior to know the authenticity or authorization of the users. These factors can be same for a user during interaction with the system. The UBEP uses two phase user verification system to authenticate a user. Firstly the acquisition phase is used to acquire and store the user interaction with NFC device and the same information is used in future to detect the authenticity of the user. The second phase (recognition) uses analysis of current and previous scenario of user interaction and digital signature verification system to finally authenticate user. The analysis of user based input makes a NFC transaction more advance and secure. This security is very tactical because it is completely depends on usage of the device.

I2Navi: An Indoor Interactive NFC Navigation System for Android Smartphones

The advancement of smartphones, wireless networking and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology have opened up a new approach to indoor navigation. Although NFC technology has been used to support electronic commerce, access control, and ticketing, there is a lack of research work on building NFC-based indoor navigation system for smartphone users. This paper presents an indoor interactive navigation system (named I2Navi) based on NFC technology for users to navigate within a building with ease using their smartphones. The I2Navi system has been implemented at the Faculty of Engineering (FOE), Multimedia University (MMU) to enable students, parents, visitors who own NFC-enabled Android smartphones to navigate themselves within the faculty. An evaluation is carried out and the results show positive response to the proposed indoor navigation system using NFC and smartphone technologies.