How To Make Your Own iPhone RFID Reader

andylim writes "It's been rumoured for some time now that Apple will include RFID technology in a future iPhone. An RFID-packing iPhone could interact with various objects including opening doors and it could even be used in shops to register items at the checkout. Beating Apple to the RFID punch, last year a company called Wireless Dynamics announced an iPhone RFID accessory called the iCarte, but if you'd rather make your own reader then you'll be interested to know how a research assistant at University College London has managed to build his own RFID iPhone accessory."

Source of low-cost, small RFID chips?

[Futurepower(R)]

On a side topic, my company is looking for a source of low-cost, small RFID chips. They should be perhaps 1 centimeter (about 1/3 inch) square. Each must have a unique code, but they don't need to be re-programmable. We haven't been able to find a supplier.

Re:

[longhairedgnome]

HAve you checked with Alienware in Fargo, nd?

Why don't RFID tag makers make smaller tags?

[Futurepower(R)]

Thanks. That's interesting. However, the smallest RFID tags they have are 1.5 inches x 0.89 inches. [remoteidentity.com]

It seems that the limiting factor in RFID adoption worldwide is that all the makers are trying to serve companies who are using RFID tags for large boxes of inventory. There don't seem to be any forward-thinking manufacturers.

Apparently the manufacturers want to charge $1 per tag and want the users to throw the tags away after use.

We need small tags with a limited range. We need each tag to have a uni

We need to be able to re-use the tags.

[Futurepower(R)]

I should have said also that we need to be able to re-use the tags.

We just need the RFID chip to say, "I'm 5633984."

[Futurepower(R)]

That's excellent. They're the right size, the smallest I've seen. However, in 10,000 quantities they cost $2.65. I'm surprised they are so expensive. That's more than the cost of an entire 8088 microprocessor. [jameco.com]

We don't need a lot of functionality. We just need the RFID chip to say, "Hi, I'm 5633984." Or, whatever number was permanently assigned.

Re:

[nicnic2]

try synomterix.com in Taiwan, Something like the stick18 (18mm dia) or Tag13 (13mm dia) products with a are more reasonably priced. While the chips are quite small the tags need an antenna and the smaller it is the shorter the reading range.

Looks good.

[Futurepower(R)]

Thanks very much. That has likely saved me many hours of looking. I had looked before and called several companies, and gotten no help.

Re:

[Richy_T]

Check out Intersoft (http://intersoft-us.com). They resupply the tags and sell several readers, including ones that plug straight into the serial port of whatever device you'd like. I used to work for them. The owner is a nice guy and will be happy to discuss applications and options.

Looks good.

[Futurepower(R)]

Thanks very much. I will investigate.

Vaporware

[manyxcxi]

The iCarte reeks of vaporware. Show me a video of it in action, show me a datasheet not riddled with buzzwords. Hell, show a tentative price or release date. How would you program it? How would you take the pay and go info off of a debit/credit card? Also, if it is so easy to take that info off of a card, how worried should consumers be about their security?

Re:

[WrongSizeGlass]

I wonder if iCarte has applied for a patent for "RFiD accessory for iPhone with lowercase 'i' in name"? (I know, I know, but the USPTO is pretty accommodating these days) If so, will try to sue the guy in London for 'rolling his own'? That may fund their next round of marketing smoke.

Re:

[postbigbang]

Datasheet without buzzwords.....

Should we dress as butlers, and serve it to you on a silver platter, sir?

If you want to know more, why not contact the company?

And while you've used that vast intelligence of yours to raise the security 'buzzword', why don't you find out more about the topic? There's this little search engine called google. You could find information out really easy that way! Maybe the buzzwords would make sense, and you'd find out more about the implications of RFID technology as it applies

Vaporware? Nooo...

[denzacar]

Being just a concept so far, I believe that it should be referred to as ideaware.
Or would that be iDeaware?

Features
Near Field Communication (NFC)
NFCIP-1 and ISO 18092 compliant
Supports contactless payment
Peer to peer communication
Data exchange speed up to 424 kbps
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
ISO 14443A/B compliant
ISO 15693 compliant
Supports NXP MIFARE®
Supports NXP MIFARE DESFire ®
Supports I-CODE® SLI
Supports Texas Instrument Tag-it(TM) HF-I
Read, write and search 13.56 MHz HF RFID tags
SmartCard
Integrated SAM (Secure Access Module)
SmartCard compliant JCOP OS
NXP MIFARE® Classic 1K tag emulation
iPhone
Made for iPod (MFI) accessory
Supports iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS
Charge iPhone and iTune Sync via mini-USB
Compact and Reliable Snap-On Design
Extends iPhone length by 16.5mm (0.65")
62.1 x 26.5 x 12.3 mm (2.4" x 1.0" x 0.5")
Available in black or white color
Read/Write Range
Up to 4.0 cm (1.5") for NFC
Up to 5.0 cm (2.0") for ISO 14443A/B
Up to 6.0 cm (2.5") for ISO 15693
Range depends on tag configuration, orientation
and environment
Low Power Consumption
90 mA (typical) RFID Read/Write mode
5 mA (typical) Contactless Payment mode
Features and specifications subject to change. V0.4

Re:

[numbski]

Heck, I'd like to get my hands on one of those card skimmers they have hooked to iPod touches in the apple store! Dang the evil you could do...

Visions of Shadowrun 4ed

[Securityemo]

In the 4ed Shadowrun setting computing and wireless communications are ubiquitous, and every legal person has to have a "commlink", a small personal computer broadcasting his/her personal ID at all times. Nonpersons, such as the player characters, has to have a fake ID or be arrested on the spot. Due to the large amount of computing power available, the only real use for personal high-performance computing is breaching computer security (it makes more sense in the fluff...) - the most popular solution is th

Re:

[PopeRatzo]

Role-players scare me.

Re:

[Securityemo]

Actually, I'm rather bad at role-playing as such, as I cannot do that; I only have one identity, and act with shallow emotions when other things are needed. Role-playing to me is thus more akin to writing, because if I project the character onto myself, I can only be me.

Time for the RFID-enabled hat

[SlappyBastard]

Ya know, cause I like hats. And doors piss me off when they don't open.

Congratulations to Apple for embracing an infomercial sales pitch -- it opens doors! it can bake a cheesecake perfect every time! do you want an omelet?! presto!

Re:

[Concerned Onlooker]

It can let me in the door at work when I forget my badge at home?

Convenience over security?

[SlappyBastard]

Before I get too mean, I should offer up that I admin databases. And if everything is a nail to a man with a hammer, everything is a hacking threat to a DBA.

I've seen too many people too gullible let strangers do too many things with their credentials, phones and credit cards to think twice about whether users should be hiking around with a security stick in their pocket -- the answer is a resounding NO, NO, NO, NO-NO-NO, NONONONO, NOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Re:

[RDW]

Don't knock it - we were supposed to have all this in one device by 1999!

http://www.space1999.net/moonbase99/tech2.htm [space1999.net]

'...it functions as a security key (restricting access to sensitive and command areas), a transponder (instantly pinpointing the position of its carrier), an audio/visual communications unit, and a programmable computer.'

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Nokia has had RFID phones since 2006

[mspohr]

http://www.rfid-weblog.com/50226711/let_me_present_you_the_rfid_phones_nokia_3220_and_nokia_5140.php [rfid-weblog.com]

Nokia has had a few RFID phones since 2006. This is not a new invention.

Re:

[gb7djk]

And the Japanese have had them even longer...

Wait...

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

You're telling me that a small general purpose computer(albeit a deliberately locked down one) with a serial port can be connected to a variety of serial peripherals, including RFID readers? Somebody fetch the smelling salts, I feel faint.

Sarcasm aside, of course, this seems like one of those situations where the hardware is utterly uninteresting; but the applications, once the boring hardware is broadly available could well be quite interesting, and possibly in unexpected ways(though, with RFID, not necessarily the good kind of unexpected).

Re:

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

RFID is (in most contexts) arguably worse for tracking than the combination of cellular modem and GPS that the handset already has, so that isn't really the issue.

I'd be more worried, as an off the cuff guess, about what RFID could do to allow you to be tracked by other people's phones. Given RFID's use in inventory management, some contactless ID and payment card systems, and eventually individual consumer goods(once they get the price down a bit), the odds are good that most people will be carrying at

The Question is

[Anonymous Coward]

What sort of RFID are they trying to implement ?

If they want the iPhone to open doors and such, then simply stick an RFID chip somewhere in or on the iPhone and be done with it.
I mean, the chips are so small, the end user can do this with very little fuss. Heck if you can stick an RFID tag in your dog, cat, wallet, keyring, credit card, and even yourself, well then this is really a non newsworthy item.

If they want to read RFID tags, then that's a different matter all together.

There are many RFID standards,

Will there be an App for...

[Kitkoan]

An RFID reader on an iPhone, and RFID credit cards being hacked [gizmodo.com] since 2008, wonder if someone will make a jailbroken only app for getting the information? Not like people think twice when they see someone playing with a iPhone in public. (while the video shows that the card pretty much needs to touch the card, the tech is getting better last I heard so the distance is getting further away and still getting the information. Plus set the program up, put your phone in your pocket and ride the bus/trains during rush hour, that would get some even with those short distances since your pretty much side by side.)

iCartel

[kiehlster]

First, I thought they were mentioning the iCartel accessory for the iPhone. I always wanted a device I could attach to my iPhone to go around using anti-competitive measures to regulate store prices. RFID reader? Not quite as exciting.

RFID Readers To Everyone!

[FordPrefect276709]

Yes, I fancy the idea of having RFID readers in the hands of millions and credit card / biometric passport reading software right there at the app-store.

No irony. There's NOTHING that makes (insecure) RFID vanish faster from cc/passports!