Matt Varian's Wemos D1 Mini-Based NFC-WiFi Board Makes Interaction as Quick and Easy as Possible
Featuring a custom-designed 3D-printed housing, the NFC-WiFi Board came about when Varian was looking to make use of an NFC implant.
Maker Matt Varian was looking for an easy way to make use of a near-field communication (NFC) implant installed in his hand, and came up with a compact solution: the NFC-WiFi Board, powered by the Wemos D1 mini microcontroller.
"I have a NFC implant in my hand and wanted a easy way to toggle events with it," Varian explains. "There was usual assortment of hodged-together NFC readers with Arduinos/RPis dangling off them, but no fully enclosed working solution."
That's where the NFC-WiFi comes in. Measuring 46x47x20mm (around 1.8x1.85x0.8"), the fully-enclosed unit couples a PN532 NFC module with the Wemos D1 mini board. When powered via micro-USB, the board can read an NFC tag and trigger an event via MQTT or IFTTT on a connected WiFi network. The housing, meanwhile, is made from 3D-printed PETG — though, Varian adds, the USB connection hole would need sealing for external use.
Varian has published a video demonstrating the NFC-WiFi in use, unlocking his front door and switching on his entry lights with a simple tap of his NFC-equipped hand — and, of course, reversing the process again afterwards.
The NFC-WiFi Board is available now priced at $25 from Varian's Tindie store, including the 3D-printed housing; more information is available on his website, while the source code and hardware files are available on his GitHub repository under the GNU General Public Licence 3.0.