iPhone Wallet based door entry system

[NickParticipant]

Just wondering if anyone can comment on the feasibility of creating an iPhone Wallet based door entry system (creating a pass that can then send a small text string to an NFC reader).

I see sites such as https://passsource.com which provide easy ways to create passes, however they do not include NFC support.

Apple mention “NFC-Enabled Passes – If you’re developing an NFC-enabled pass to use with Apple Pay, you’ll need to request an NFC certificate.” however I do not currently have a developer account to proceed any further with that, and would be reluctant to do so if the certificate would be too onerous to obtain.

I have seen this thread https://flomio.com/forums/topic/sample-nfc-ios-pass-please/

I have also seen this one on Stackoverflow https://stackoverflow.com/questions/44021597/apple-nfc-enabled-reward-pass-for-india where it does not sound too feasible.

Does anyone have any experience obtaining NFC certificates, is it easy and straight forward for a hobbyist developer looking to use them in a system with a small number of users or is this process only feasible for larger companies with big budgets.

I would be looking to send out a pass e.g. via email, which a user could download on their phone, and then hold upto a reader which would then blindly output the data (ideally via serial) which I could then interface into an Arduino etc that would signal a GPIO/relay to release the door strike. Or alternatively perhaps interface it to a PC with a USB reader https://flomio.com/shop/readers/acr122u-nfc-reader/ and something like https://www.codeproject.com/Articles/16653/A-Smart-Card-Framework-for-NET

[RichardKeymaster]

Hi Nick, good research and well thought out post. Flomio has an NFC certificate from Apple and we’re in the process of building out a service for our customers to use it together with our line of readers. All we have is a simple ticket demo that connects all the dots proving the functionality. Here’s a video of it’s first version:

I sent you a TestFlight invitation to the demo app called PassNinja. I basically pairs with our FloBLE Plus (ACR1255U) reader and allows you to generate NFC Passes for Apple Wallet and then validate these passes like in the video above. We’ve designed the app to work for Guest coming to meet with someone at a corporate office so you can change who the Guest is as well as who they are going to visit (in Settings).

would love to hear your feedback.
Richard

[NickParticipant]

Many thanks for the response and the demo app link.

So I think I am understanding correctly in that the plan is to allow customers to use your certificate to create NFC enabled passes, and therefore it would not be necessary to obtain one directly from Apple saving on a potential issue. Do you know how this would work – e.g. perhaps some kind of HTTP JSON based API which could be integrated into an existing web app / PHP site for generating and emailing passes? Do you have any idea of timescales/costs for this?

In terms of the other end of things, reading NFC iPhone wallet passes I think I am understanding this would only work with the “FloBLE Plus” and not something like the ACR122U (USB which can connect to a regular PC) because the Flomio SDK is designed more for mobile use and is only available on mobile devices. Therefore for the use case I am thinking about it would be necessary to have e.g. an iPhone permanently powered up running a custom app using the Flomio SDK connected via Bluetooth to the FloBLE Plus listening for iPhone NFC communications, and then e.g. triggering a NSURLRequest to another system / Arduino etc that could toggle a GPIO (not sure how viable that would really be).

Also is the Flomio SDK able to read iPhone NFC passes at this point anyway or is that something that is still in development due to the “security layer” https://flomio.com/forums/topic/sample-nfc-ios-pass-please/#post-61538 – do you have any idea on timescales/costs, also presumably this service would need an active Internet connection to your server to work potentially adding some delay / additional points of failure into the system.

So for this to be realised currently we would be waiting on some kind of online API to generate NFC passes, and then an SDK update which supports your (presumably) online service to decode the security layer?

I do not have any Android experience however I do also see Android mentioned in the SDK support (although not seeing an documentations for that) so perhaps it would be possible to run the Flomio SDK on something like emteria.OS https://emteria.com/ with Raspberry Pi 3 hardware although I am not sure how complex that would be to setup.

Or am I missing a simpler solution? I see your shop page mentions “Android, WindowsPhone, Blackberry, etc available on request” what other platforms does the SDK support – primarily looking for a platform with a low barrier to entry that could potentially just be used to output the NFC message real time to another system for processing (or compare NFC messages to a valid list help in local storage and toggle a GPIO).

[RichardKeymaster]

Hi Nick, sorry for the delay. Indeed we have a REST API that the PassNinja app uses to create and distribute NFC passes. We are in the process of adding authentication and account management to the service so we can make it a formal SaaS product.

Pricing will be similar to other wallet pass providers like UrbanAirship and PassKit with a premium since we will be bundling in a validation solution that’s inherently secure. How many pass type ids, active pass installs and validations each month do you estimate for your use case?

We do have a simple solution to control the FloBLE readers from non-mobile devices. It’s a JavaScript version of our SDK that can works from a browser, on mobile, and in Node.js environments. This is how we implemented the http://flomio.com/my-devices utility on our site. It allows you to test out your FloBLE readers from your browser as well as read/write data to your NFC tags. The same code can be run with the noble package on a RaspberryPi3 with Node.js. You can then use the RPi3 header GPIO lines to toggle your door actuation.

Similar to how we have iOS and Android folders in the current Flomio SDK bundle, we intend to add a Javascript folder. The Basic SDK will continue to require cloud connectivity to check licensing while the Pro version will be able to operate offline. So in the ideal scenario you would npm install flomio-sdk noble, configure the SDK with your pass type id, and write a bit of access logic/GPIO code to get your system working. However, right now we only support validation through the PassNinja REST API which requires cloud connectivity.

We hope our timeline and strategy works for you since we think your use case is a great one. Android Pay support, offline validation, and other key features will be coming down the pipe soon so for right now we’re hustling to just connect all the dots.

best,
Richard

[IbsParticipant]

Ho Richard,

I would like to test your app in our system. If yo can send me the code I will test ot and send it feedback about the performance

[AmanParticipant]

Hi! Can I get this demo app link also?

[ScottKeymaster]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your interest in PassNinja, here is a link to beta test the demo app using TestFlight. You will need to purchase a FloBLE Plus to use with the app.

Scott

• This reply was modified 6 years ago by  Scott.

[BrentParticipant]

I was wondering if I could get the TestFlight link too? I’ve recently ordered the FloBLE and just came across this forum. My school uses NFC Touchpoints for doorway access, and if I could use my Apple Watch to get into said doorways, that would be AWESOME.

[DanaParticipant]

Scott,

Also looking to integrate NFC in a non-profit ticketing system, a local haunt attraction, and as a hobbyist on my doors at home (as mentioned above!)

I’d love a link to TestFlight, and an email where I can discuss more. Will likely purchase a device, just want to walk through some specifics. I filled out a form for PassNinja earlier, I think that’s related here.

[Author]

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