Ecma/GA/2008/244

Ecma/TC47/2009/010

Challenge of NFC technology

using Visible Light

4th December, 2008

Clint Chaplin
(c.chaplin@sisa.samsung.com)
Samsung
Electronics

Outline
Part 1 : What is VLC ?
VLC Introduction
VLC Application
LED as Light Source for VLC
VLC vs. RF characteristics

Part 2 : VL (Visible Light)-NFC

NFC Concept
NFC Application
Why VL-NFC ?
VL-NFC Characteristics

Conclusion

VLC Introduction
VLC (Visible Light Communication)
New communication technology using Visible Light
Wavelength between ~400nm (750THz) and ~700nm (428THz)

General characteristic
Visibility : Aesthetically pleasing
Security : What You See Is What You Send
Unregulated : No regulation in optical frequency
Health : Harmless for human body
Non-interference with other devices
300MHz

10GHz

300GHz

3THz

RF
1m

IR
3cm

802.11
802.16

428THz

1mm

TC 48
802.15.3c

100m

750THz

visible
700nm

400nm

THz
VLC
IrDA

300PHz

UV
1nm

LED as Light Source for VLC

Light Emitting Diode (LED)
Small

Relatively faster response time

Relatively Long life

Difficult to damage with external shock

More efficient

High tolerance to humidity

Low power consumption

Minimal heat generation

Cost / Brightness ratio

Performance and Price comparison

2003
LED

100

2005
LED

10

2010
LED

1
Incandescent
Lamp
0

Halogen
Lamp

Fluorescent Lamp
HID
(High-Intensity Discharge)
50
Brightness / Power ratio

100

2015
LED
150

Source: Credit Suisse, 2006.11.2

VLC Application
Application

Function

Mobile
to
Mobile

Contents-sharing
Data transfer
Handheld device, Portable device

Mobile
to
Fixed

File transfer
Video streaming
M-commerce
CE, Kiosk, Printer

Infrastructure
to
Mobile

Indoor Navigation
Information-broadcast

VL vs. RF Characteristics
Property

VL Comm.

Bandwidth

Unlimited, 400nm~700nm Regulatory, BW Limited

EMI

No

Yes

Line of sight

Yes

No

Standard

Beginning

Matured

Relatively low

Medium

Yes

No

LED Illumination

Access Point

Limited

Yes

Narrow, Short

Wide, Medium

Power consumption
Visibility security
Infrastructure
Mobility
Coverage, Distance

RF Comm.

Outline
Part 1 : What is VLC ?
VLC Introduction
VLC Application
LED as Light Source for VLC
VLC vs. RF characteristics

Part 2 : VL (Visible Light)-NFC

NFC Concept
NFC Application
Why VL-NFC ?
VL-NFC Characteristics

Conclusion

NFC Concept
Feature
10cm Communication
Smart Card + S/W + RFID

Mod
NFC Readere
NFC Tag
Peer to Peer
Communication

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

NFC Application

e-Poster

Kiosk
P2P

Transportation

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Payment

Why VL-NFC ?
VL-NFC

High
Data
Rate

High Data Rate

Expansion of data
rate capacity by not
using frequency
range
Visible Security
What you see is
what you send

VL
NFC
Visible
Security

Unregulated

Unregulated
No regulation in
communication
frequency

VL-NFC Characteristics
High data rate (Link performance)

Coverage (cm)

120 Mbps

240 Mbps

320 Mbps

10

10

10

-5

-5

-5

-10

20

40

60

80 100 120

Distance (cm)

-10

20

40

60

80 100 120

Distance (cm)

-10

-log (BER)
10
8
6
4
2
0
20

40

60

80 100 120

Distance (cm)

Outline
Part 1 : What is VLC ?
VLC Introduction
VLC Application
LED as Light Source for VLC
VLC vs. RF characteristics

Part 2 : VL (Visible Light)-NFC

NFC Concept
NFC Application
Why VL-NFC ?
VL-NFC Characteristics

Conclusion

Conclusion
Visible Light-NFC has unique properties that
opens up new applications and uses for NFC
High speed
Safe for interference sensitive situations
Visible evidence of security
Free from current radio regulation

Thank you!

Q&A