We are experimenting with near field communications (NFC) to stimulate distribution of homegrown media over the open wireless network (OWN in London, and Freifunk in Lueneburg).
NFC is a set of standards for smart-phones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a few inches. Present and anticipated applications include contactless transactions, data exchange, and simplified setup of more complex communications such as Wi-Fi. Communication is also possible between an NFC device and an unpowered NFC chip, called a “tag”. More on NFC.
An idea is to design stickers with embedded tags which we then distribute during our workshop in Lueneburg and thus mediating Deckspace.TV and any local media sources in Lueneburg (eg. Freifunk/Graswurzel.TV).
We ordered this RFC reader/writer (see also advance card reader ltd.)
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the wireless non-contact use of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data, for the purposes of automatically identifying and tracking tags attached to objects. The tags contain electronically stored information. Some tags are powered by and read at short ranges (a few meters) via magnetic fields (electromagnetic induction). Others use a local power source such as a battery, or else have no battery but collect energy from the interrogating EM field, and then act as a passive transponder to emit microwaves or UHF radio waves (i.e., electromagnetic radiation at high frequencies). Battery powered tags may operate at hundreds of meters. Unlike a bar code, the tag does not necessarily need to be within line of sight of the reader, and may be embedded in the tracked object. More on RFID.
The Thing on display in NSA‘s national cryptologic museum.
Interestingly Leon Theremin, the inventor of the theremin, is often referred to as the inventor of RFID. Leon created a bug (the Thing) in order to spy on the US ambassador, operating on an RFID principle.
Leon Theremin playing his own instrument