McDonald’s Answers Singapore’s Age Old Question
Land. Terrain. Space. Three synonyms that describe what the densely populated cities of Asia are seriously lacking. News stories constantly depict how the regions of Asia are coping with the serious lack of space in the region. We don’t have a problem with this yet in the United States so kids are often seen frolicking on fast food restaurant playgrounds — a concept that has brought this RFID story to life in Singapore.
McDonald’s locations in Singapore don’t have extra room in their small restaurants for kid’s playgrounds. McDonald’s has been brainstorming on how to solve this space problem and have found their answer through NFC technology. So that McDonald’s would have an entertainment factor in the restaurants, they developed the McParty Run App for NFC enabled phones and devices. They affixed NFC chips to the bottom of tables that would interact with the app turning that section of the table into a virtual race track. The app begins with you getting a car, and when you place the phone on the NFC enabled table, the track starts to unfold on the phone’s screen. As you move along, some chips designate big loops, turns, hills, or pit stops. McDonald’s installed one game table at each restaurant for all the children to play. So far the NFC gaming solution has been a success!
This story goes along with that infamous quote, “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” The people of McDonald’s Singapore have turned an problem into a new opportunity with innovative thinking.
Read more RFID Journal.
Lord of the Ring?
One powerful ring that conquers doors, phones, and information is now on the market with a handy built in NFC chip. This NFC ring has the power to activate phone apps, unlock doors, share Wi-FI information, and go to websites.
One of the biggest hurdles to overcome when incorporating NFC into jewelry was definitely the metal interfering with the radio energy. It took a while, but finally the developer of the ring made it work by creating custom thin shielding and even thinner NFC inlays. I wouldn’t be surprised if more and more NFC jewelry started to populate the market. It’s a perfect Christmas gift for a fellow nerd, wouldn’t you say?
Read more about the NFC ring at Mashable.
From Needles to Smartphones
This is by far the coo
lest and most important story I have ever written about, and I’m not even being facetious. Several times a day, millions of people with diabetes draw their blood in order to measure glucose levels. Why haven’t we come up with a solution to this immense problem yet? Now, people are making this problem non-existent. NFC chip maker AMS has developed an NFC implant that helps diabetes sufferers read their glucose levels at any time with an NFC enabled smartphone. The implant would make finger pricking a thing of the past. With a wave of a smartphone over the implant, users see their temperature and blood-glucose levels.
The NFC tag and sensor are passively powered, so it will not include a battery and will operate off the power received from the reader (smartphone). It will be an app on your smartphone that takes these readings and even sends them directly to doctors if necessary. Hopefully, this new method will be on the market in a few months’ time. Privacy concerns should be diminished as the only information strangers could steal is your glucose level, and they have to be a few centimeters away. I think the first candidate should be the guy from all the diabetes commercials, Wilford Brimley, because he has grown so near and dear to all of our hearts throughout the years.
Read more at NFC World.
