Apple and Google have solutions but they don’t play well together. You may have enjoyed provisioning Google Chromecast from an Android phone. Or setting up your AppleTV from your iPhone. It’s not as nice when you mix things up though. This is due to security upgrades to both Android and iOS that prevent apps from changing a user’s network settings. Despite being more secure, it kills the user experience.

NFC avoids the security issues by exchanging network settings directly. Rather than mess with complex WiFi modes and workflows, NFC is a sensible alternative that isn’t so difficult to implement. Flomio’s products and support assist product UX designers achieve the best result across hardware and software.

NFC is compatible across iOS and Android

 
The tech giants make use of Zeroconf technology, or what Apple calls Bonjour, to create an out-of-band, peer-to-peer temporary network between mobile device and hardware product. The problem is that most IoT device makers are not Google or Apple. Delivering a great cross platform experience is difficult with Zeroconf technology.

Product makers may try using an embedded web server on their device and a REST API through a mobile app. Both require the user to manually connect their mobile device to the IoT device in soft AP mode (acting as its own WiFi network). This approach blows because it forces the user to leave the app plus it often strands networks. You may have seen the resulting clunkiness in products like Belkin WeMo.

The most broadly supported method for connecting devices is tap-to-pair via NFC. This method is commonly found in Bluetooth speakers and headphones but available to WiFi devices as well. There’s several ways to implement it -each with different pros/cons- a few of which I discuss below:

1 Your product has Wifi and BLE radios, as well as an external NFC sticker with BLE pairing code.

User story: Joe installs product app from app store, launches app, and taps NFC surface to pair product to his phone.
How it works: Behind the scenes BLE secure pairing is established and WiFi creds are sent seamlessly over BLE to product. We have implemented this on a shopping cart product we built last year, checkout the pairing process at the beginning of this video:

2 Your product has WiFi and an NFC reader built in that supports the VAS protocol

User story: Joe installs product app from app store, launches app and a digital NFC pass is created and added to Joe’s mobile wallet (Apple Wallet or Google Pay). Joe then places his phone over the product’s NFC reader to pair it with his WiFi network.
How it works: The product app grabs WiFi creds on Joe’s phone and creates a digital NFC pass with the creds as it’s payload. Once Joe adds the pass to his mobile wallet he can pass this over to the product via NFC. The product then securely decodes the WiFi creds and connects to the network. We have implemented this in a demo app called PassNinja as shown in this video:

3 Your product has WiFi and NFC passive tag built in, an accessory NFC writer is included.

User Story: Joe installs product app from app store, launches app and pairs it with accessory device. Then taps accessory on NFC surface to pair product with his WiFi network.
How it works: The product app grabs WiFi creds on Joe’s phone and sends them through the accessory to the product via the built in NFC tag interface. The accessory is required since NFC writing capability is not available broadly across mobile devices (notably iPhones lack this feature) but there’s a good chance that will change in the near future. We’ve implemented this on our NFC Actions app on the App Store and here’s a video of it in action:

At Flomio we are passionate about building turn-key tools for IoT developers. Having served over 2500 customers across 55 countries we’ve learned a great deal. If you’re working on an IoT project and think we can help, LET US KNOW! We provide free support on our Forums where we typically answer within 24 hours or 1-on-1 premium support through the purchase of Flomio Service bundles.

Get project help

The post Best UX: Provisioning Headless IoT Devices appeared first on Flomio.

Flomio’s SmartCart system offers product discovery, inventory control, loss prevention, and payment as independent components so that merchants can phase them in as they see fit. The system centers around the SmartCart –available in several modalities— and a mobile app. Similar to AmazonGo, the SmartCart technology detects what products shoppers put inside it and reflects this activity on the their mobile device. If shoppers remove products from their SmartCart, these are removed from their checkout list and their running total is updated. Once they are ready to pay, shoppers can do so directly from their mobile device and without having to wait in any lines. Here’s a live demo from the conference that captures the experience:

Unlike AmazonGo, the SmartCart system can be deployed in an existing store with little operational impact or infrastructure upgrades. Products need to be tagged and integrated with the store’s inventory backend, but after that SmartCart checkouts can take place alongside traditional register checkouts. SmartCarts will be able to track shopper activity and location throughout the store, so they can work in tandem with loss prevention portals to reduce shrink. And that’s just the beginning.

Since the SmartCart app knows what shoppers are buying, it can also vastly improve product discovery and drive sales lift for merchants. Shoppers get suggestions on great add-on products and instructions on where to find these in-store. All this happens instantaneously while they are still actively shopping instead of –after the fact– at the checkout counter.

The SmartCart app leverages the AWS IoT infrastructure to capture –in real time– streams of shopper activity in the cloud. Once analyzed, this data can deliver new insights for merchants as well as open up new revenue channels. For instance, it could be used to train machine learning models that reduce cart abandonment, improve forecasting, and even institute dynamic pricing. At our re:Invent talk ATC304 – RFID Advertising, we introduced the concept of a new Ad Unit where product suppliers can sponsor suggestions. These techniques have proven very successful in online commerce and are now possible in physical stores.

Check out slides

Flomio is to Android like AmazonGo is to iOS

At Flomio we have always embraced an open ecosystem of tools and services that allows developers and enterprises to build solutions that best fit their needs. This is similar to how Android opened their platform in the smartphone industry and Comma.ai aims to do it for self-driving cars. Companies like Apple, Tesla, and Amazon have the luxury of building closed product ecosystems, however our strategy is to fill the void they create in doing so.

At AWS re:Invent we disclosed all of the details of our retail platform architecture and are illustrated here (right). Our SmartCart app is available for any merchant to white label and use with their customers. It’s built onour mature Flomio SDK for easy integration with different SmartCart hardware as well as tagging and loss prevention systems. We are have pilots planned with merchants in early 2018 and presenting our lessons learned at RFID Journal Live on April 10th. If you’re interested in participating and have stores located in the Miami area, please let us know.

Schedule a demo

The post SmartCart @ AWS re:Invent appeared first on Flomio.

BagBot made use of the Synchrony Financial’s pioneering APIs to bring the type of suggestive selling that consumers currently only enjoy while shopping online directly into the store. Flomio leveraged the experience gained while working on projects such as Visa’s SmartCart to build an RFID-enabled shopping bag that could suggest additional items to shoppers as they shop.

Synchrony’s goal is to leverage AI to pour over the vast amounts of data they receive from their retail partners to better predict what a shopper is going to purchase next. BagBot used their loyalty and next_purchaseAPI endpoints to give shoppers intelligent suggestions and relevant discounts as soon as an item was placed in our shopping bag.

Bagbot is a great example of how shopping should be in the 21st century. It combines cutting edge sensor technology, mobile and AI to deliver a customer experience that delights. The customer journey begins with pairing their phone with the smart shopping bag by tapping their mobile phone to it. Then placing any item in the bag will be scanned and relayed to their checkout list. The BagBot then surfaces targeted rewards and related items to drive sales lift. Payment is taken directly in the app and items are taken out of inventory. This avoid loss prevention portals from alarming on exit.

The BagBot hardware features a two part design comprised of an insulated shopping bag and a magnetically detachable scanner module. This approach allows shoppers to own their bags and avoid a re-bagging step before leaving the store. It also reduces the total cost of ownership for the retailer since they only need to cover the scanner modules that get recycled. Lastly, the same loss prevention and inventory control technology common in retail today is directly compatible with the BagBot hardware. So the system can be easily retrofitted into existing retail stores without massive infrastructure changes.

We wanted to give a big thanks to everyone at Money 20/20 and the team at Synchrony Financial for their inputs and support. We look to pilot the solution with retailers in 2018 and report back our learnings at the conference next year.

– Richard

The post BagBot: Money2020 hackaton winner! appeared first on Flomio.

This is a benchmark test of the iPhone7 NFC reader mode performance against the Samsung S7 Edge and FloBLE Plus. The iPhone7 outputs only 1.5A/m in an inconsistent pattern (4 quick bursts for 2s, and then 1 burst every 2s). The FloBLE Plus and S7 Edge consistently output 2A/m twice a second (1 burst every half second).

The post iPhone7 NFC Reader Performance Tests appeared first on Flomio.

TL;DR: Only enabled on iPhone7/7+ devices.Supports ISO14443 and ISO15693 tags. Only reads NDEF data (no writing, no APDUs). App must run in the foreground (no background support). iOS11 general release out in September, 2017.

For use with iPhone7/7+

According to the API documentation, Apple has chosen to only enable NFC reader support on their latest iPhone hardware, the iPhone7 and 7+. This makes sense since the iPhone6 wasn’t designed with NFC reading in mind. The glass back on the iPhone7 design is a lot more amenable to interrogate tags of various geometries.

This contrasts the iPhone6 with a metal back that limits a good scan field. It’s not to say that it’s not possible though as this hacker showed on his jailbroken iPhone6. Which ever the case, Apple is wise to stick with what will work best. When NFC performs great it’s lifts the whole ecosystem up.

ISO14443 and ISO15693

The NFC Forum specification defines 5 tag types all of which are supported by the CoreNFC framework in Apple’s iOS11 release. This means that physical layers defined by both ISO14443 and ISO15693 specifications are covered. It’s a great achievement given there are niche use cases where ISO15693 is most suitable. Like for small geometry tags.

That being said, there’s no API access to the different layers of the protocols so reading tag UUID or raw data blocks is not possible. This will be a problem for most developers who are looking to build integration off of the uniqueness of tag UUID, but it’s a smart move from Apple. It avoids the overwhelming support costs of educating the market on low level commands while moving applications away from the vulnerabilities and privacy concerns around UUID-based solutions.

Reading NDEF Data

Though Apple won’t give you tag UUIDs, it will let you read NDEF messages off of tags. That’s pretty useful given the WellKnownType definition includes URI, Text, Smart Poster, Connection Handover, and Signature Record. The most useful of these is the URI type with ability of sharing URLs, emails, phone numbers, or even a drafted SMS message. Along with an app, NDEF messages can deliver some fascinating use cases. The most compelling I would argue involve launching a web site, proving geospatial presence, and connecting to WiFi.

NFC Actions FTW!

In order to reap the benefits of these experiences, iPhone7 users will need an app. This is because -unlike Android- the iOS11 release doesn’t offer system level NFC support. So you’ll need to have an app installed and in the foreground in order to detect NFC tags with NDEF messages on them. Our NFC Actions app is a perfect solution for that.

NFC Actions is available for download from the App Store and integrated with Flomio’s NFC readers as well as the iPhone’s native NFC functionality. It will not only let you read NFC tags but write them as well! Also, along with it’s tight integration with IFTTT and AWS, you’ll be able to build end-to-end solutions using it.

-Richard

The post Apple opens NFC to Developers with iOS11 appeared first on Flomio.

FloBLE Plus power probe

Customers have reported that FloBLE readers are losing connection while operating for long stretches. We thought this could be because batteries were draining out so we studied the overall power performance of the FloBLE Plus (ACR1255U-J1) in detail.  Ultimately, we wanted to know if a standard USB port (USB1.0 from PC) would enough to keep a FloBLE connected and scanning continuously. TL;DR: Yes! like the FloJack (ACR35), the FloBLE (ACR1255U-J1) is capable of continuously scanning NFC tags while powered by a standard USB port from a PC or wall adapter.

The main question is if a USB port can charge the FloBLE/ACR1255U-J1 battery faster than it’s being discharged while polling for tags. To answer this it’s important to see how the battery is functioning over time. By looking at the current drawn from the battery as well as delivered by the charger and comparing that to both the ratings of the battery and the power supply, we’ll know if the supply can keep up with the load. We’ll use the lowest power supply option which is a standard USB port on a PC.

Equipment

The FloBLE/ACR1255u-J1 pulses a magnetic field to detect NFC tags. Currents during the time the field is active are significantly higher than times when it’s inactive. We’ll use an oscilloscope to capture the power fluctuations being supplied by the battery during these operations.

Shunt circuit across FloBLE/ACR1255U-j1

We’ll need a shunt circuit to transduce the battery current into a bipolar voltage that represents the magnitude and direction of the current flowing through the battery. We’ll record this voltage along with the battery voltage to understand the battery function. The circuit will need to allow the test battery to still power the reader. Lastly, we’ll use a current production unit of FloBLE Plus/ACR1255U-J1 along with by version 2.2 (11) of the Flomio Test App on an iPad.

The sketch here is the shunt circuit. It has an amplifier with a filtered shunt resistor in series with the battery and a reference voltage to bias the amplifier output to a midpoint voltage so that current can be observed into and out of the battery.

The fixed gain of the amp and resistor value result in an output of 1.25 V/Amp

We built the circuit on a bare PCB so as to attach the battery to the shunt while connected via a cable to the reader. This circuit is interchangeable with a variety of our readers for consistent battery testing.

Testing FloBLE/ACR1255U-J1

We attached the oscilloscope to TP2 with the ground lead tied to the reference voltage at TP3. The output of the circuit while the FloBLE Plus/ACR1255U-J1 was polling for tags and NOT connected to a USB supply is shown here. You can see the battery supplying a steady current of 12ma and a pulse of 150ma with a width of 13.2 ms every 500ms. Note that the current out of the battery is positive and we had to calibrate out a slight offset in the circuit to get these results.

Current draw without USB supply

The battery has a capacity of 320 mAh. Integrating the current for a complete 500ms cycle and solving for the RMS current results in a drain on the battery of 16ma RMS, which is several orders of magnitude lower than the ratings of USB port supply (500mA).

This means the battery will supply the reader polling continuously for nearly 20 hours without being connected to a charger. Additionally, a standard USB 1.0/2.0 port can supply the remaining 484 ma of current to charge the battery. Note that the reader IS NOT scanning tags, when it does the current remains at the peak current of the pulse while the card is present. While high at 150ma the standard USB 1.0/2.0 port would still be able to supply the reader with enough power for the NFC field AND still be able to charge the battery.

Current draw with USB supply

Furthermore, we allowed the battery to discharge to a low level and then connected the reader to a standard USB 1.0/2.0 port. The resulting plot illustrates the reader staying in the charging mode (positive voltage) while still charging the battery.

The unusual surge in charging current immediately after the NFC pulse is most likely a capacitor bank recharging after being discharged during the pulse. The charging current being delivered to the battery is approximately 235ma when not pulsing. This current is a function of how deeply discharged the battery is and tails off as the battery approaches full charge. It appears that the charging circuit in the reader is limiting the current applied to the battery and is not being limited by the USB supply current.

Observations

The FloBLE Plus/ACR1255U-J1 was left connected to a USB port and tested while polling for tags continuously and recording the battery voltage for a full day. Below is the full capture across the 17hrs and 10mins of testing. In this plot the battery voltage varies slightly between 4.164V and 4.200V. Note that the voltage was scaled with a divider to allow for a more compressed voltage range (0 to +/- 4V) on the oscilloscope. The actual battery voltage is Vplot x 2.13:

FloBLE/ACR1255U-J1 battery charging profile

The voltages are far from the discharged battery (<3.7V) voltage and show the reader cycling between charging and discharging about once per hour. During charging the current draw is low, approximately 50ma and well below the capacity of the USB port.

The plot here shows typical charge cycles of the reader during continuous scanning for NFC tags. These currents are typically seen while the battery indicator LED is red. The LED is seen to cycle on and off with the charging cycle.

Note that the USB port supplies enough current for the field pulse and battery charging at the same time. There is no current flowing out of the battery (positive voltage) the current continues to flow into the battery even during the pulse.

As a final test, we fully charged a FloBLE Plus (ACR1255U-J1) and connected to the Flomio Test app set to scan continuously. We then observed the reader’s behavior until the battery discharged to the point that the system stopped functioning. The battery lasted 19 hours and 42 minutes before the Test app reported the reader was disconnected. About 1 hour before the reader disconnected the battery LED flashed red and the Test App indicated the battery had 10% of charge remaining. The following screenshot shows the battery discharge curve. The battery transitions from functional to non functional very rapidly as seen by the abrupt “knee” in the discharge curve during the last hour of operation. When connecting to power after being discharged, the reader and app reconnected as expected and scanning resumed normally. The battery then recharged fully while continuously scanning in about 1 hour (note there is a delay between discharge and the reconnection to the USB port).

Conclusion

The test results showed that the FloBLE Plus/ACR1255U-J1 reader draws on average 16ma while polling continuously for tags. Computer USB 1.0/2.0 ports can supply up to 500ma and USB 3.0 900ma which is well above what the reader requires. The reader’s battery stays nearly fully charged while connected to a USB 2.0 port while polling. The reader employs a shallow discharge and recharge cycle rather than a trickle charge strategy to keep the battery fully charged. With a tag in the field the reader will draw a continuous 150ma and would still be able to charge the battery if connected to a USB 2.0 port indefinitely. With a fully discharged battery the reader is capable of operating normally connected to a USB port and polling and still able to recharge the battery.

Therefore, intermittent problems reported by customers are more likely due to data communication problems than to resets caused by discharged batteries.

– Jim Disser

The post Continuous Scanning With FloBLE (ACR1255U-J1) appeared first on Flomio.

A little more than a third of consumers (36 percent) have used some form of mobile payment applications in the past year.

Source: Walker Sands Future of Retail Study 2016

Despite the lack of enthusiasm in embracing this technology, brick-and-mortar retail stores are trying to remove as much friction as possible from the payment process to eliminate consumer frustration and enhance the ‘buyer’s experience’.

To this end, retailers have adopted proprietary retail mobile apps that enable the customer to pay only in their stores (closed-loop payment).

Figure 1: Source: Walker Sands Future of Retail Study 2016

Stores are interested in creating a better in-store experience for both their brands and their customers, beyond payments. The key factor of that experience is: “all-in-one payment and reward.”

In-house  proprietary payment (closed-loop) solutions have pros and cons. Some of the benefits of closed-loop payment systems are:

• Integrate payment, reward and receipt delivery into one transaction,
• Improve loyalty,
• Enable capturing big data on customers transactions, including customers buying habits, popular items, and even ROI measures on marketing campaigns,
• Minimize internal payment processing, which can lower merchant’s costs,
• Maintain ownership over the entire merchant/customer process.

Notwithstanding, using closed-loop payments also have several shortcomings:

• Customers can only use the system for purchasing and paying at the store (it cannot be used at other locations),
• Creates user fragmentation, affecting the adoption of the store app.

How stores are reducing the friction at checkout?

Currently, barcode is the technology mostly used to perform payment transactions at checkouts. Barcodes have been around for decades and have helped to integrate payments with the store’s loyalty programs. However, barcodes do not completely reduce friction because customers still need to:

• Pull up the app,
• Go to the barcode,
• Show the store associate the display to initiate payment,
• Associate will scan the barcode, and
• Only then can the transaction be completed.

NFC is the way to go

NFC is a more robust solution compared with barcodes, and definitely more secure.

Until recently, the acceptance of NFC-based smartphones has not been massive, thus preventing the use of NFC for this type of proprietary solution.

Apple launched the first version of NFC-enabled iPhone in 2014 (iPhone 6), however, NFC was not available for any other use, other than payments, until 2015 which saw the introduction of NFC-enabled passes. Meanwhile, Android had been supporting all-in-one payments and rewards for quite some time.

With the introduction of NFC-enabled passes on the iPhone, stores can now implement solutions such as ‘all-in-one payment and reward’ on iOS supported devices as well.

From the user’s perspective, using NFC closed-loop payments is faster and simpler. For example, using Apple Wallet, the shopper simply needs to hold the phone just above the card reader with a finger placed on the home button. It does not need to be connected to any network, nor does the shopper need to launch an app, key-in a password or manipulate the app in any way. The device does not even need to be unlocked.

NFC-enabled passes also simplify the distribution of reward cards; the reward passes can be downloaded from the Internet, sent by email, obtained from an app, etc.

Main drivers that will help accelerate the adoption of in-store NFC-enabled payments are:

• UX: Contactless transactions are more frictionless than their barcode counterparts.
• Integrated transactions: Stores want loyalty programs and payments transactions into one.
• Increases Throughput: NFC offers faster (at least 2x faster) and easier transactions.

– Daniel Baudino

The post How to help closed-loop mobile payments get off the launch pad? appeared first on Flomio.

Barcodes have been around for decades but strangely enough, the use of barcodes in mobile payments have only recently been picking up. Starbucks has been a pioneer in mobile payments using barcodes. Walmart and CVS have recently introduced a similar solution. Because of the embedded cameras, smartphones have been always capable of reading barcodes and that is one of the main reasons why barcodes are so ubiquitous.

83% of North American consumers are aware of QR codes

Source: BrandSpark International

1 in 5 smartphone users have scanned a QR code with their mobile device

Source: MarketingCharts

Smartphones can display and read barcodes, which enables multiple options for defining the user experience (UX):

– Displaying barcode: The barcode is generated by the app, and it usually contains the user ID. For an in-store payment, the user opens the app on the smartphone, navigates the menu to display the barcode, and then presents the screen to be scanned at the register. Starbucks uses this approach.
– Read a barcode: The app reads a barcode presented by the merchant. The user opens the store app, launches the camera within the app and scans the code presented by the store. Walmart uses this approach.

Main drivers of the barcode popularity

The proliferation of smartphones capable of reading and displaying a barcode is one of the main drivers, but there are others:

• Barcode readers are less expensive than NFC readers.
• Barcodes are easy to generate, print or display on a screen.
• The adoption of NFC-enabled smartphones has been slow.
• NFC-enabled ecosystem is complex and has numerous stakeholders.

Based on this, it makes more sense for companies to adopt barcodes for mobile payments. However, and despite their popularity, barcode technology is not the best solution; the UX is subpar and, most importantly, barcodes are not secure (on-screen barcodes could be replicated with a simple screen grab).

Adoption of NFC on Payments.

Contactless payments (NFC-based) seem to be taking off, driven by Apple, Google, and Samsung Pay, which offer a different solution compared with barcode systems.

In-store barcode payments are closed-loop payments. They are all proprietary solutions that help the store to include loyalty and payment in the same transaction.

NFC is a more robust solution than barcodes, and definitely more secure. The NFC Forum Survey says that, as users get familiar with NFC, they favor it over barcodes. Using NFC, transactions are faster, easier and more secure.

The previously listed circumstances that helped barcodes to become popular have held true until now, but things are changing:

• NFC-enabled devices are becoming more ubiquitous
• Contactless readers are becoming more affordable
• NFC-enabled ecosystems have become simpler and they can be integrated with other existing solutions.

Other drivers that will help accelerate the adoption of in-store NFC-enabled payments are:

• UX: Contactless transactions are more frictionless than their barcode counterparts.
• Integrated transactions: Stores want to take advantage of loyalty programs and payments by bundling all transactions into one. The same solution can be achieved using the NFC Value Added Service (VAS) protocol
• Increases Throughput: NFC offers faster (at least 2x faster) and easier transactions.

–Daniel Baudino

The post Trends in Closed-Loop Payments appeared first on Flomio.

What’s an EASyPOS?

EASyPOS is an item level point of sale. A light weight terminal that connects wirelessly to the payment network to securely process transactions and unlock from products for consumers to take. EASyPOS is the first of its kind and though placing a POS on every item may seem impractical, it offers several advantages. For one, the device is able to monitor its location with a high degree of accuracy, guiding shoppers directly to the products they seek and consistently delivering positive purchase experiences. Also, inventory accuracy is all but guaranteed so omnichannel commerce and other popular retail trends are supported. Finally, EASyPOS has lights and sound alerts to enable smart filtering and encourage impulse buys.

How do I use it?

Using the EASyPOS is —in fact— “easy”. Follow these steps to complete your purchase:

• Grab the product you want to purchase.
• Place your Contactless Payment credential on the surface of the contactless payment logo and wait for 4 LEDs to blink green. EASyPOS is now disarmed.
• Slide apart the magnetic halves and remove from your purchase.
• Place EASyPOS in the drop-off bin on your way out.

How is it built?

The EASyPOS was built by Flomio in collaboration with Visa, Tyco Retail
Solutions (Sensormatic) and NXP Semiconductors. It operates at very low power while actively monitoring for payment engagements, remote notifications, tamper attacks, and location changes throughout the retail environment. Smaller than a deck of cards, the EASyPOS is a payments certifiable device that leverages the hardened security and miniaturization advances of NXP. It is split into two assemblies, the top hosting active components like the freakishly loud 90dB speaker and the bottom containing the wireless recharging power system.

How secure is it? Will it prevent theft?

The EASyPOS achieves strong security without adding purchase friction by leveraging an established tamperproof design and adding sensor fusion and machine learning software. As a secure IoT device, it forms a self-healing network with neighboring units to monitor it’s location, movements, and physical health. It connects to the AWS IoT backbone to easily integrate with in-store surveillance systems like cameras and other loss prevention infrastructure. For instance, if the customer attempts to exit the store without removing the EASyPOS then Tyco’s Synergy portals can detect that and sound the alarm(s). In the same vien, if a customer removes the EASyPOS while armed (product unpaid) then the unit will alarm along with notifying the in-store staff via the local network. If the customer pays for the item but fails to drop off the unit in a recharging bin, then a lower priority alert can sound and if needed, the merchant can charge a fee for the cost of the EASyPOS itself.

How can I add it do my store?

The EASyPOS integrates with merchant inventory systems and payment processors to provide an awesome purchase experience to consumers. This requires a few infrastructure elements that we are happy to assist merchants in adopting. We are currently working with large retailers planning pilot deployments and are streamlining a lot of these activities. Because of the flexibility of the system, you don’t have to have an EASyPOS on every item in your store. You can effectively phase in the solution starting with high value or high demand items and work your way throughout. The benefit of having more EASyPOS devices on the floor is increased location accuracy for seeking a product or filtering across a bunch of products in sight.

I’m interested

The post EASyPOS makes shopping as easy as shoplifting™ appeared first on Flomio.

Using Active-posters, smartphones need to emulate tags (Card Emulation Mode), just like Smart-posters. Until the iPhone 6, that behavior was unique to Android devices.

iPhone 6 added support for tag (card) emulation, but only for payment purposes (emulating a contactless credit card), since it was needed for their Apple Pay service. iOS 9 expanded the support of NFC beyond payment and launched the NFC-enabled passes.

Using NFC-enabled passes, iPhones can now interact with Active-poster. With the iPhone, the experience must be initiated from the Apple Wallet and then can be passed onto an app. With Android, the experience can start and continue directly from an app.

Further improving on the concept of Smarts and Active-posters, Flomio introduces NFC-on-Glass technology. NFC-on-Glass is what makes “Extreme-posters” simply amazing. It augments iPads and TV screens with “Tap-to-Get” areas within the screen real estate.

Doing so allows advertisers to be more creative with their messaging and capture more engagement. Software applications managing “Extreme-posters” can dynamically guide the user journey using animations, pictures, etc. to heighten the overall experience and drive more conversions. Each interaction can be animated as well, for instance, to show a successful transaction, exit data needed, indicate errors, and so on. The experience is focused right where it needs to be.

Moreover, multiple “Tap-to-Get” areas can be defined on a single display and each area could require a different prompt from the user, for example; signature capture, information exchange, checking in, payment, etc.

Extreme-posters Highlights

• Must be powered
• NFC readers (Antennas) are embedded inside a TV or iPAD
• User experience is more engaging (animations improves the interaction with the user)

For more information on Extreme-posters download the White Paper.

–Daniel Baudino

The post Extreme-Posters appeared first on Flomio.