Touchatag is an RFID service for consumers, application developers and operators/enterprises created by Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent is a global telecommunications corporation, headquartered in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. It provides telecommunications solutions to service providers, enterprises, and governments around the world, enabling these customers to deliver voice, data, and video services...

. Consumers can use RFID tags to trigger what touchatag calls Applications, which can include opening a webpage, sending a text message, shutting down the computer, or running a custom application created through the software's API, via the application developer network. Touchatag applications are also compatible with NFC

Near Field Communication

Near field communication, or NFC, allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and wireless connections between two devices in proximity to each other, usually by no more than a few centimeters. It is expected to become a widely used system for making payments by smartphone in the United States...

 enabled phones like the Nokia 6212. TikiTag was launched as an Open Beta on October 1, 2008. And it was rebranded to touchatag on February 15, 2009. Touchatag also sells RFID hardware, like a starter package with 1 USB RFID reader and 10 RFID tags (stickers), for which the client software is currently compatible with Windows XP and Vista, along with Mac OS X 10.4 and up. Touchatag is currently carried by Amazon.com, ThinkGeek, Firebox.com and getDigital.de along with Touchatag's own Online Store. Touchatag also markets their products' underlying technology for enterprise and operator solutions. Touchatag announced an agreement with Belgacom PingPing on jointly developing the contactless market and announced a commercial pilot with Accor Services.

Service

Touchatag's core offering is the touchatag service, based on the "application correlation service" and allows tag, reader and application management. For consumers, the web interface allows to link RFID tags (and 2D barcode tags, more precisely QR Code

QR Code

A QR code is a type of matrix barcode first designed for the automotive industry. More recently, the system has become popular outside of the industry due to its fast readability and comparatively large storage capacity. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white...

) to applications. Application developers can use the correlation API to use the ACS functionalities to create contactless applications. For businesses, this ACS is extended with an RFID/NFC tag and reader catalogue, and applications like loyalty, interactive advertising and couponing.

Hardware

The reader provided is an ACS 122U Tag Reader, from Advanced Card Systems. The tags shipped with the reader are MiFare Ultralight tags.

Official clients

Touchatag hardware is supported by its makers on Microsoft Windows and MacOS X platforms, and requires registration on the website to work. An unsupported application is also available for Linux platforms. Like the MacOS X application, the Linux application uses PCSC-Lite for hardware access.

Unofficial clients

• TagEventor is an open-source client from the Autelic association that works on Linux platforms, and does not use the web service from touchatag. It uses the PCSC-Lite daemon and can be run in foreground or daemon mode to make tag events available to user-space applications.

Programming libraries

• touchatag-processing is a Processing library from Augusto Esteves that allows users to connect and read from multiple touchatag readers on the Windows platform. This library works with simply the reader's drivers, so there's no need to install any official or unofficial clients.

See also

• RFID
• NFC
  Near Field Communication
  Near field communication, or NFC, allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and wireless connections between two devices in proximity to each other, usually by no more than a few centimeters. It is expected to become a widely used system for making payments by smartphone in the United States...
  
  
• contactless payment
  Contactless payment
  Contactless payment systems are credit cards and debit cards, key fobs, smartcards or other devices which use RFID for making secure payments. The embedded chip and antenna enable consumers to wave their card or fob over a reader at the point of sale. Some suppliers claim that transactions can be...
  
  
• contactless
  Contactless
  Contactless may refer to:* Contactless smart card* Proximity card, a contactless integrated circuit device used for security access or payment systems* Contactless payment, systems which use RFID for making secure payments...
  
  
• Internet of Things
  Internet of Things
  The Internet of Things refers to uniquely identifiable objects and their virtual representations in an Internet-like structure. The term Internet of Things was first used by Kevin Ashton in 1999. The concept of the Internet of Things first became popular through the Auto-ID Center and related...
  
  

External links

• Touchatag vendor website
• Touchatag developer network
• Touchatag business website
• Touchatag developer forum

News Articles

• Review: Touchatag RFID System
• Consumer Electronics 2.0: MIT's Henry Holtzman on The Internet of Things
• Alcatel-Lucent outlines carriers’ role in contactless future
• Touchatag's aim: RFID apps development made easier
• AlcaLu Gets Interesting
• Alcatel-Lucent démocratise l’utilisation des puces RFID auprès du grand public.
• Touchatag Adds Business Apps
• Tikitag renamed Touchatag, adds QR codes to repertoire
• Touchatag from Alcatel Lucent stood out.
• Geeky Toys That Will Make You a Christmas Hero (Wired.com)
• Tikitag promises to bring RFID tags to everything (Engadget)
• DEMO: Meet Alcatel-Lucent’s Services Play (Gigaom)
• Tikitag RFID Tagging System Makes an Internet Out of Your Stuff (Gizmodo)