Sheep Inc: The world’s first carbon-negative fashion brand — Evening Standard — “Each sweater comes with an NFC tag on the hem, marked with a unique serial number. When scanned with a smartphone, the full details of the garment’s manufacturing journey and carbon-footprint are unlocked… In amongst all the information and insights on material origins, water usage and production techniques that appear when you scan the tag, is also the name of the sheep who provided the wool for your sweater.”
Tracking
Apple adds Ultra Wideband communications chip to iPhone 11
Apple’s iPhone 11 smartphones will come with a new chip that supports ultra wideband communications, opening up the potential for the devices to support a range of new proximity-based services including item tracking, keyless vehicle entry and mobile payments... More
Chinese airlines to offer NFC baggage tags at Beijing airport
China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines are introducing NFC-enabled electronic baggage tags that let passengers check in their own luggage and then track its location on their mobile phones, China Daily reports... More
DHL tracks temperature-sensitive medical supplies with NFC
New logistics technologies introduced at DHL Global Chicago hub — Healthcare Packaging — “Using near field communication (NFC) technology, sensors log in-transit ambient environmental temperature conditions during shipping, functioning at temperatures between -40 and +60 degrees Celsius. The sensors allow uploading of temperature data directly to the DHL mobile app and LifeTrack web portal, making them cost effective and easy to use without the need for specific scanners or devices… DHL has seen a 40% increase in operational capabilities using these scanners.”
ShipChain to use NFC to track temperature-sensitive shipments on the blockchain
ShipChain and GTX Corp launch global NFC blockchain shipment tracking solution — ShipChain — “The NFC tags provide real-time temperature sensing and data logging across the supply chain necessary with transportation of perishables; food, drinks, pharmaceuticals and other temperature-sensitive products that can be negatively affected by conditions in transit. These built-in security measures can prevent the distribution of contaminated supplies in the marketplace and unauthorised modification of data logs, allowing brands, retailers, distributors, and freight forwarders to verify shipment quality.”
Kobelli to use NFC to track diamonds on the blockchain
Diamond jewellery maker Kobelli is to use a blockchain-based NFC platform to provide its customers with a way to securely verify the authenticity of their purchases... More
Giant Eagle trials scan-free self-checkout in US supermarket
US supermarket chain Giant Eagle is piloting a checkout-free shopping and payments system that uses a network of cameras and sensors to let customers enter a store, select and place items in their shopping basket as normal, check out from their mobile phone and then simply walk out of the store... More
Walmart combines blockchain and QR codes to let Chinese consumers verify source of fresh produce in stores
Walmart customers in China will soon be able to scan QR codes on stickers attached to fresh meat, rice, mushrooms, cooking oil and other produce to acquire detailed product information including “the source of the scanned products and geographic location received by Walmart, logistics process, product inspection report, and many more data points”... More
Singapore Post adds NFC tags to 15,000 mail boxes
Singapore Post has equipped each of its 1,000 mail carriers with a mobile app that they can use to track their deliveries by scanning NFC tags the national postal service has attached to 15,000 delivery points and ‘letterbox nests’ across the island... More
Standard Chartered unveils IoT payments platform that automatically triggers a payment when a connected product arrives at a destination
Standard Chartered has announced that it is working on a new type of payments solution that “could revolutionise the way corporates communicate with banks for financing or payments.”... More
Mastercard comes under fire for sharing transaction data with Google
Google and Mastercard cut a secret ad deal to track retail sales — Bloomberg — “For the past year, select Google advertisers have had access to a potent new tool to track whether the ads they ran online led to a sale at a physical store in the US. That insight came thanks in part to a stockpile of Mastercard transactions that Google paid for… Google paid Mastercard millions of dollars for the data, according to two people who worked on the deal.”
Trimble adds NFC to commercial driver tracking system
Trimble enhances FieldMaster Logs with Tap & Go technology to improve driver experience with ELDs — Trimble — “With our new Tap & Go technology, drivers will be able to leverage secure near field communication (NFC) technology to streamline the login process. With just the tap of a compatible keychain, sticker or ID card, they are able to log in to their in-cab tablet, making it easy and quick to access and start their ELD [Electronic Logging Device] workflow. This will ensure that drivers no longer need to spend valuable time manually typing in lengthy usernames and passwords which can cause frustration. With a simple tap, they are into the system and can focus on getting their work done.”
Abu Dhabi launches app to track pupils on journey to school
Abu Dhabi launches app to track pupils on journey to school — Arabian Business — “Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) and Emirates Transport have launched Hafilaty, an app that enables parents to track their children to and from school… As part of the initiative, Emirates Transport has installed advanced systems, including GPS tracking systems to locate the bus and NFC technology on students’ cards.”
SingPost to add 50,000 NFC tags to delivery and collection points for greater operational efficiency
Singapore’s postal service provider SingPost is rolling out 50,000 NFC tags to delivery and collection points across the island and is to equip 1,000 postmen with NFC smartphones to “raise postal service quality and improve operational efficiency”... More
ST discovery kit speeds time to market for contactless applications
PARTNER NEWS: STMicroelectronics has combined its ST25R3911B NFC reader IC and its STM32L476RE microcontroller into a discovery kit designed to accelerate time to market for a wide range of contactless applications, including ticketing, asset tracking, device authentication, sensor data collection and access control... More
Carnival unveils NFC and BLE wearable for cruise ship passengers
Holidaymakers aboard Carnival Corporation cruise ships will soon be given an NFC and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) enabled wearable device, designed by the man behind Disney’s MagicBand, that will let them access a range of next generation services including boarding without checking in, unlocking rooms, accessing personalised entertainment, ordering food and making payments. More
Mobile payments and IoT trends for smartwatches
Internet of things, monitoring for insurance and mobile wallet expansion are three of the key emerging smartwatch app trends found in research by Parks Associates... More
Case study explores the use of NFC to improve office efficiency
A case study which explores how one of London’s most iconic buildings has used NFC technology to streamline data key management, security patrol and contractor services into a single interface and deliver more accurate information in real time is now available to download from the NFC World+ Knowledge Centre. More
Mobile-only bank goes live in the UK
UK banks Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank have launched B, a mobile-only bank developed in partnership with design consultancy Market Gravity... More
RapidNFC offers NFC cable ties for easy asset tagging
PARTNER NEWS: Bespoke NFC tag supplier and manufacturer RapidNFC has expanded its range to include NFC asset tags that are designed to make it easy to tag a wide range of assets from cables to shelving and machinery. More