The NFC Forum’s Tag NFC Data Exchange Format Exchange Protocol (TNEP) Specification and an updated version of the Connection Handover Technical Specification (CH 1.5) have been formally approved and adopted, the standards organisation has announced.

TNEP is based on the standard procedure to read and write to an NFC Forum tag “meaning that all NFC-enabled smartphones allowing their apps to read and write tags are capable of supporting TNEP using an app,” the NFC Forum explains.

“These apps are able to establish a bidirectional NFC communication link to IoT devices without the need to implement the Logical Link Control Protocol (LLCP) for peer-to-peer communication (P2P).”

“Bidirectional communication with IoT devices means NFC-enabled smartphones can read the actual state from the IoT device and can change the configuration of the IoT device by using write operations,” it adds.

“It can be used to configure an audio system, digital camera, lightning system, smart meter or radiator valve, for example.

“When combined with the CH 1.5, TNEP enables new NFC, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi negotiated and mediated handover solutions by using the reader/writer mode regardless of the smartphone operating system.”

“Previously, negotiated handover was limited to a P2P connection,” the Forum says. “CH 1.5 can now use TNEP to allow an additional negotiated handover for a connection between a reader/writer and NFC tag device providing users more control over how they gather and share their information between devices, thereby increasing the security of paired connections.”

CH 1.5 also makes it possible for new solutions to be developed that pair NFC with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi for the exchange of large files or streamed data, it adds. “Examples include Bluetooth audio streaming or transfer of a photo between a digital camera or a smartphone over Wi-Fi.”

“The adoption of the TNEP specification means that IoT device manufacturers can now use components implementing the protocol for tag communication to create more cost-efficient designs and expand connectivity options,” says NFC Forum Chair Koichi Tagawa.

“Together with CH 1.5, the two specifications offer an ideal solution for microcontroller-based designs for IoT devices.”

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