In its continuous pursuit to break down barriers to the IoT and adoption of smart home products, the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) is partnering with Near Field Communication (NFC) Forum to find solutions that bridge gaps in the market. With development underway for Matter, the standard that will serve as the foundation of connected things, the liaison agreement allows the two organizations to explore opportunities to use NFC’s proximity-based connectivity technology with CSA standards, improving experiences in areas like commissioning and proof of possession.
Why choose to partner with the NFC Forum? The NFC Forum has 110 member organizations and is the world’s leading standards and advocacy association for NFC technology– playing a key role in making the smart home a reality. According to ABI Research, the market for NFC is continuing to grow at a rapid rate with a projected 65% attach rate in smartphones in 2023 and just under 30 million NFC-enabled smart home devices in 2026.
Source: NFC Forum
NFC brings a number of benefits: it is fast and easy, secure, and uses zero power technology. In addition to these benefits, the collaboration between the two organizations opens the opportunity to explore additional use cases with both Matter and Access Control, CSA standards development areas. Further, through joint marketing, the parties can help drive market acceptance. Finally, and most importantly, using NFC can improve user experience securely and in a seamless way.
Key benefits of NFC:
- Wireless Communication Protocol Agnostic
- Supports any wireless protocol
- Supported by all major smartphones and tablets
- Easy
- No manual entry
- Exchange network keys in one tap
- Flexible
- No need for power supply for the nodes to exchange credentials
- No direct network connection with the gateway required when powering the node for the first time – directly connecting to the network
- Pre-configuration of the nodes possible (“in the box” customization)
- Contactless FW upgrade
- Secure
- Network key exchange is done via proximity versus long range network
Through their agreement, the CSA and the NFC Forum will collaborate on technical and certification initiatives to improve the commissioning process for Matter, looking at “tap to commission” as a possible optional solution using NFC; and also to support proof of possession capabilities for emerging standards in the Access Control space. Collaborations will be done under the working group structure of each organization, with agreement by both organizations to share technical information and market requirements regarding NFC starting first with Matter.
If you are interested in participating in shaping the future of the IoT and contributing to this effort in building new IoT use cases, contact [email protected]. To learn more about the CSA visit: https://csa-iot.org/
About NFC Forum
The NFC Forum is a non-profit industry association whose membership draws from all parts of the NFC ecosystem. Working within the framework of the NFC Forum, member organizations share development, application, and marketing expertise to develop the best possible solutions for advancing the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which enables the lives of consumers worldwide and advances members’ business objectives.
About CSA
The Connectivity Standards Alliance, formerly the Zigbee Alliance, is the foundation and future of the Internet of Things (IoT). Established in 2002, its wide-ranging global membership collaborates to create and evolve universal open standards for the products transforming the way we live, work and play. With its Members’ deep and diverse expertise, robust certification programs, and a full suite of open IoT solutions the Alliance is leading the movement toward a more intuitive, imaginative, and useful world. The Connectivity Standards Alliance board of directors is comprised of executives from Amazon, Apple, ASSA ABLOY, Comcast, Google, Huawei, IKEA, The Kroger Co., LEEDARSON, Legrand, Lutron Electronics, NXP Semiconductors, Resideo, Schneider Electric, Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), Silicon Labs, SmartThings, Somfy, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, Tuya, and Wulian. Find out more about the Alliance at www.csa-iot.org, and about Matter at www.buildwithmatter.com.