Caught this on Techcrunch today and it’s simply badass. Quite a nice follow up from the NFC-enabled iPhone news and shows the sort of creativity you can have with this technology.
The following is a product of the famous Facebook ‘24hr Hackathons‘ where everyone does an all-nighter to come up with new and wonderful things like Facebook Chat, webcam uploads and now….Keg Presence.
Keg Presence is an application especially for the staff at Facebook HQ in Palo Alto, CA which is hooked up to the office beer tap .
It notifies employees when the keg is empty or what type of beer is currently available.
But the really cool part is that employees swipe their RFID badge when they get there, triggering the camera on the iMac, which takes a photo of them pouring beer and updates their Facebook status (below).
Let’s face it, there is only one manufacturer that can create mass adoption of NFC services and devices, they are called Apple.
The NFC market today is in its infancy, a few shops are installing terminals BUT I guarantee you that if the following patents filed by Apple are due to appear in the next iPhone, then we’ll see the rapid uptake of contactless technology by retailers, appliance manufacturers and rivals. This is going to be BIG.
We are talking about handset manufacturers redefining mobile advertising here. What kind of things could happen?
When I wrote the post about NFC-enabled TVs and Radios to be used with mobile advertising, this is exactly the kind of equipment I had in mind to start making it a reality.
Samsung have started adding Wi-Fi to their LED range of televisions. Not only can you use Twitter and Flickr from the on-screen widgets but you can also watch YouTube (which brings up questions about the future of traditional broadcasting just by itself).
The reason why this is important is because the TV can now send and receive information via the internet. Add a NFC chip onto the television/remote control it then becomes a portal of unlimited opportunities.
Compare the adverts you sit through on TV to on the internet, I barely notice the ones online but on TV brands have the chance to really grab my attention. My attention is on the screen, I’ve probably got a packet of Pickled Onion Monster Munch in hand (get in), I ain’t moving. Then…wow the new Adidas Predator advert comes on, jeez I sure would like a pair of them, move my phone over the remote and BEEP BEEP > coupons, nearest store, catalogues, competitions, apps, the list could go on. The same applies during programs.
NFC is the technology for the true couch potato.
If you haven’t heard of FourSquare it’s that social network that everyone who uses Twitter talks about – so in my case zero of my friends.
There is no doubt that the success of the iPhone has played a massive part in the development of touch interfaces. One of its greatest innovations is multi-touch, which is starting to appear everywhere, including the trackpads on new Mac laptops .
What’s going to be interesting is seeing how people utilise it in completely unique and exciting ways. This is one example which has impressed me recently.
The guys at Moto Labs have developed a full-scale version of a Blackjack table with resistive multi-touch. The logic behind it goes like this:
Gaming is an ideal application for multi-touch screen technology. Replacing physical tokens, chips, cards, or game pieces with virtual items eliminates tedious setup, distribution, and cleanup tasks while increasing the efficiency and accuracy of gameplay.
So a touch screen gaming table might not sound bleeding edge, but check out the natural gestures for hiding your cards and dealing:
And what about the other opportunities for casinos? Read More
I’ve been keeping an eye out for developments with NFC after the TV and Radio advertising concept I sketched out a while back.
I think it’s going to take someone like Apple to get NFC maintstream, there is much talk of them sticking NFC capabilities in the next iPhone after they filed a patent for such a feature. Read More
Check out this great video from Touch showing the possibilities of using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags inside of physical objects to control media playback.
It gives you some fantastic insight on the tools brands, agencies and advertisers will have at their disposal in the future. That is of course providing NFC enabled phones actually take off, but all it takes is a handset like the iPhone to step in with it and change the market. According to this patent application by Apple, that might just happen.
The even bigger picture is using your phone to interact with everyday objects and devices (also the basis for my NFC concept). Explained simply in the picture below.
What is even more excitin is the exploration not only about the phone reacting as output for an object but also as the input. Read More
Here is another concept I found in my sketchbook, this time using NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. NFC is the technology behind cashless ticketing systems like the Oyster Card in London or contactless credit cards such a Visa Wave.
According to Juniper, NFC mobile payments will exceed $30 billion by 2012, this growth will be supported by marketing tools such as coupons and smart posters.
There are big expectations for NFC and mobile. The simplicity for the consumer is one of it’s biggest advantages, you simple need to move your NFC device near the transmitter to interact. Unlike Bluetooth or Wi-fi, there is no need to enter passwords or pair devices. Read More
How To Spread Fear About Google In Less Than 3 Minutes 
