NFC device and method of operating the same
In accordance with a first aspect of the present disclosure, a near field communication (NFC) device is provided, comprising: a communication unit configured to be communicatively coupled to an NFC reader; a processing unit configured to use a plurality of emulated cards for executing one or more applications; a profile determination unit configured to determine a polling profile of said NFC reader; and a card selection unit configured to select a specific one of said emulated cards for use by the processing unit in dependence on the polling profile determined by the profile determination unit. In accordance with a second aspect of the present disclosure, a corresponding method of operating a near field communication (NFC) device is conceived. In accordance with a third aspect of the present disclosure, a corresponding computer program is provided.
1. A near field communication (NFC) device, comprising:
a communication unit configured to be communicatively coupled to an NFC reader;
a processing unit configured to use a plurality of emulated cards for executing one or more applications;
a profile determination unit configured to determine a polling profile of said NFC reader;
a card selection unit configured to select a specific one of said emulated cards for use by the processing unit in dependence on the polling profile determined by the profile determination unit.
2. The NFC device of claim 1 , wherein the card selection unit is further configured to perform a preselection of a subset of said emulated cards in dependence on a geographical location of the NFC device, and to select said specific emulated card from said subset.
3. The NFC device of claim 2 , comprising one or more further communication units configured to enable determining the geographical location of the NFC device.
4. The NFC device of claim 3 , wherein the further communication units are at least one of a satellite communication unit, a wireless local area network communication unit, a Bluetooth communication unit, a cellular communication unit, and an ultra-wideband communication unit.
5. The NFC device of claim 2 , wherein the card selection unit is configured to select a default emulated card if the geographical location of the NFC device has not been determined.
6. The NFC device of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is configured to override the selection of the specific emulated card by the card selection unit.
7. The NFC device of claim 1 , wherein the card selection unit is configured to select said specific emulated card using a programmable mapping table in which polling profiles are mapped to said emulated cards.
8. The NFC device of claim 7 , wherein the programmable mapping table further maps geographical location information to said polling profiles and emulated cards.
9. The NFC device of claim 1 , wherein the card selection unit is further configured to select said specific emulated card using a user input which is indicative of a manual selection performed by a user.
10. The NFC device of claim 1 , wherein the polling profile represents a pattern of radio frequency, RF, transmission events detected by the NFC device when the communication unit is communicatively coupled to the NFC reader.
11. The NFC device of claim 1 , wherein said emulated cards are used for carrying out transactions with the NFC reader.
12. A method of operating a near field communication (NFC) device, the NFC device comprising a communication unit, a processing unit, a profile determination unit and a card selection unit, the method comprising:
communicatively coupling the communication unit to an NFC reader;
determining, by the profile determination unit, a polling profile of said NFC reader;
selecting, by the card selection unit, a specific one of a plurality of emulated cards in dependence on the polling profile determined by the profile determination unit;
using, by the processing unit, the specific emulated card for executing an application.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the card selection unit performs a preselection of a subset of said emulated cards in dependence on a geographical location of the NFC device, and selects said specific emulated card from said subset.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein one or more further communication units comprised in the NFC device enable determining the geographical location of the NFC device.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the further communication units are at least one of a satellite communication unit, a wireless local area network communication unit, a Bluetooth communication unit, a cellular communication unit, and an ultra-wideband communication unit.
16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the card selection unit selects a default emulated card if the geographical location of the NFC device has not been determined.
17. The method of claim 12 , wherein the processing unit overrides the selection of the specific emulated card by the card selection unit.
18. The method of claim 12 , wherein the card selection unit selects said specific emulated card using a programmable mapping table in which polling profiles are mapped to said emulated cards.
19. The method of claim 12 , wherein a computer program comprising executable instructions stored in a computer-readable non-transitory medium, when executed by the NFC device, causes the NFC device to carry out the method.