TMCnet News

NFC Forum Boosts Smart Home IoT with Thread Group Liaison Agreement
[September 19, 2018]

NFC Forum Boosts Smart Home IoT with Thread Group Liaison Agreement


The NFC Forum and the Thread Group announced today that they have formed an official partnership by signing a liaison agreement. The goal of the agreement is to provide a new Internet of Things (IoT) user interface experience (UX) by using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology when installing and configuring a device to a Thread network. The organizations plan to collaborate on how NFC technology can be deployed as part of the IoT device installation, configuration and commissioning process on a Thread network.

"NFC technology provides a straightforward, intuitive and secure way to install and configure devices to a Thread network by 'tapping' an IoT device directly to an NFC-enabled gateway or registered NFC smartphone," said Sujata Neidig (News - Alert), vice president of marketing, Thread Group. "NFC is included in many smartphone platforms today, providing a direct out-of-band commissioning mechanism for smart home and smart building uses."

Thread and NFC: Advancing the Smart Home and Smart Building
Thread is a low-power wireless mesh networking protocol, based on the universally supported Internet Protocol (IP), and built using open and proven standards that can advance and accelerate adoption of IoT.

Thread enables direct, end-to-end, secure and scalable connectivity between IoT devices, mobile devices and the internet in smart homes and smart buildings. Thread was designed to support a wide variety of applications in homes and buildings, such as appliances, access control, climate control, energy management, lighting, safety, and security.

NFC technology complements Thread by providing consumers easy, secure two-way wireless interactions between electronic devices, access to digital content and the ability to perform contactless transactions with a single tap of a smrtphone.



"NFC technology is a key enabler allowing for the connectivity, commissioning and control of devices while providing the most intuitive, easy-to-use consumer interface," said Paula Hunter, executive director, NFC Forum (News - Alert). "The NFC Forum's IoT Special Interest Group will be working closely with the Thread Group to deepen the relationship between the two organizations."

About Thread Group
Formed in 2013, the non-profit Thread Group is focused on making Thread the foundation for the internet of things in homes and commercial buildings. Built on open standards, Thread is a low power wireless networking protocol that enables direct, end-to-end, secure and scalable connectivity between IoT devices, mobile devices, and the internet. And, because Thread is IP-based, it seamlessly integrates with many environments, apps, devices and clouds. Thread Group provides a rigorous certification program to ensure device interoperability and a positive user experience. Thread is backed by industry-leading companies including Apple, Arm, Google/Nest, Nordic Semiconductors, NXP Semiconductors, OSRAM, Qualcomm, Schneider Electric, Siemens (News - Alert), Silicon Labs, Somfy and Yale Security.


For more, please visit http://www.threadgroup.org, follow us on Twitter @TheThreadGroup, and connect on LinkedIn.

About the NFC Forum
The NFC Forum (www.nfc-forum.org) was launched as a non-profit industry association in 2004 by leading mobile communications, semiconductor, and consumer electronics companies. The Forum's mission is to advance the use of Near Field Communication technology by developing specifications, ensuring interoperability among devices and services, and educating the market about NFC technology. The Forum's global member companies are currently developing specifications for a modular NFC device architecture, and protocols for interoperable data exchange and device-independent service delivery, device discovery, and device capability. Only member companies can participate in the Forum's certification program of NFC devices, readers and tags. The NFC Forum's Sponsor members, which hold seats on the Board of Directors, include leading players in key industries around the world. The Sponsor members are: Apple Inc., Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd., Google, Inc., Infineon, Intel (News - Alert), MasterCard Worldwide, NXP Semiconductors, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Corporation, STMicroelectronics, and Visa Inc.

Follow the NFC Forum:

Facebook Google+ LinkedIn Twitter YouTube


[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]