The Near Field Communication (NFC) Forum, the global standards-body for NFC technology, announced Certification Release 13 (CR13) that, for the first time, adds certification for the automotive car access NFC use case as specified by the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC).
CR13 enables users to unlock and start their vehicle with a smartphone even if the battery is dead. This certification will support CCC’s Digital Key releases 2 and 3. In addition, NFC wireless charging will also be available in the first quarter of 2022 as part of this release.
“Cooperation with other standards bodies is a strategic priority for CCC,” said Daniel Knobloch, president, CCC. “The cooperation with the NFC Forum resulted in a dedicated certification scheme supporting the long-term goal of interoperability between NFC enabled vehicles and smart devices.”
The CCC Digital Key is a standardized ecosystem that enables mobile devices to store, authenticate, and share Digital Keys for vehicles in a secure, privacy-preserving way that works everywhere. The digitalization of car keys enables the flexibility to share keys with family and friends as well as opening new mobility concepts. NFC is a standard feature on the almost three billion smartphones and, increasingly, in smart cars, making it one of the most prolific and versatile technologies in the world.
“With the release of CR13, the NFC Forum is opening device certification to non-members. This is a significant step to addressing the global need for NFC interoperability across multiple ecosystems, including automotive,” said Mike McCamon, executive director, NFC Forum.
“Smartphones and other NFC-enabled devices that conform to CR13 can support a wide variety of NFC implementations while also improving the user experience and can be used in many other applications that support a contactless lifestyle, including payments, smart homes, identity, mobility and Internet-of-Things.”
NFC Wireless Charging Certification Available Early 2022
NFC Forum also announced today that certification for the NFC wireless charging feature of CR13 is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2022. It will enable enrollment of interoperable products using the NFC wireless charging feature to the broad NFC ecosystem.
New Certification Test Plan Generator Tool Automates Applying for Certification
The Test Plan Generator Tool (TPG Tool) will help applicants more easily apply for certification by automating the process of feature declaration and test cases selection with the result that an hours-long process can now be done in minutes. Moving from a paper-based process to this web-based, free tool (https://nfc-forum-itp.com) will save time and money for vendors and authorized test labs.
