StoLPaN, the pan-European consortium driving adoption of Near Field Communication (NFC), has announced details of the first public trial of NFC that will integrate this emerging contactless technology in the Dolomite skiing resorts of North East Italy.
Tourists visiting selected hotels will be provided with NFC-enabled mobile phones and smart cards that can be used securely in multiple environments in their resort for applications that use different devices and connection technologies including NFC, SMS and barcodes.
The trial will include the delivery of up-to-date ski and weather reports to phones when devices are waved past NFC-enabled active posters, and integration of NFC with SMS and barcode-based infrastructures in bars, restaurants and shops to offer customer loyalty schemes.
For example, a coupon picked up from a smart poster offering discounts at a local restaurant might be redeemed through the NFC phone using a SMS or barcode system later that evening.
The trial, organized by StoLPaN, is being managed by research company Ennova Research, and relies on the support of Cattid of the University of Rome, the Regione Veneto local government and AFF Hungary. The trial will use different types of NFC-enabled phones, contactless point of sales terminals from Ingenico, NFC and MIFARE technology by NXP Semiconductors, the service platform by Ennova Research and the security levels by the University of Technology of Graz.