The NFC Forum, the standards body for Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, has revealed the winners of its 2024 Innovation Awards. This year’s competition attracted over 60 entries from around the world, with a panel of experts selecting ten finalists. The top five winners were announced at a ceremony during the NFC Forum European Member Meeting in Nice, France, following the first-ever Open Public Vote for the Innovation Awards.
ProQure, a provider of IoT cloud management solutions for physical objects, was among the winners for its NFC IC PQ201-S. This type two tag is designed for the intelligent packaging sector, featuring a PUF security mechanism. Using proprietary chip design and Cloud-based authentication, it enhances security by reducing the risk of replay attacks and data interception, addressing growing concerns around brand protection.
Another winner, BP Digital, was recognised for NOUMI, an innovative plug-and-play solution enabling retail customers to receive digital copies of their receipts with a simple tap of an NFC-enabled mobile device. NOUMI sits between the EPOS system and the thermal printer, intercepting and decoding the print data. By tapping their phone on the NOUMI device, customers can collect digital receipts directly onto the NOUMI app.
Erisco was celebrated for its battery-free smart padlock, which harnesses energy from NFC-enabled devices to power its lock mechanism. The padlock’s efficient coil design optimises energy harvesting from various phones, allowing for quick power transfer and reliable data communication across different devices.
Blu Oberon’s bluon.me Semiperdo Smart Wristband for children also received recognition for its innovation in safety. The wristband integrates an NFC tag into the elastic fabric, allowing it to communicate with smartphones. When tapped, it opens a webpage that sends the child’s location to their parents, using the phone of the individual who finds them.
The final winner, IoTize, was acknowledged for its App Creator, a low-code environment that simplifies app development. With its drag-and-drop editor for designing user interfaces and a data flow editor for building app logic, it enables rapid development of applications by linking elements from NFC, logic, and function libraries with minimal expertise required.
“NFC technology has been a tried and trusted lynchpin of the connected device ecosystem for over 20 years, but this year’s Innovation Awards have proven that we are still finding countless new ways to harness its power,” said Mike McCamon, Executive Director of NFC Forum. “Each of the finalists for the awards presented outstanding, products, services and experiences that showcase the capabilities of NFC technology. Thank you to all those who submitted entries and we are all excited to see what transformative solutions are presented next year.”
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