NFC vs Barcodes

Barcodes:

• cheap to produce
• work anywhere, on any surface
• work on all phones

• can be scanned at a moderate distance

• require light, or a dedicated barcode reader

• can be temporarily disabled with a marker pen (normal pen wipes off easily, even permanent marker comes off with a little rubbing)
• can be duplicated (though GPS tracking helps prevent this being an issue)

NFC tags:

• no light required
• fast to read in most situations
• hard to duplicate (most have an unchangeable unique ID)

• recognised automatically (no need to hit the scan button)

• only NFC-equipped devices can read them, and need right tag type for future compatibility

• slightly more expensive, presently harder to source
• need special tags for metal surfaces
• need close contact with reader to read tags

The 'lo-tech' barcodes actually come off surprisingly well. They work especially well on units with dedicated barcode readers (but these units can be quite expensive). A guard reports an example of reading one on a gate from a car window on a rainy night - something that can't easily be done with an NFC reader.

The only real issue with barcodes is that you can duplicate one by taking a photo of it and printing it (or use a barcode generator on the web). Cross-matching with GPS traces can help prevent this. GDS does this for you.

NFC tags are a newer technology. They're unobtrusive - a typical example looks like a small white sticker. They could even be branded by having a company logo printed on them. They are hard to duplicate, and can be read quickly on an increasingly wide variety of cost-effective devices.

NFC tags are still maturing: the cheapest variety of tag is the 'Mifare classic', which unfortunately does not fully conform to the NFC standard and so can't be read by some newer devices (the Nexus 4 and Galaxy S4 and later). Another better tag type is the NTAG203, which does conform and looks to be the tag of choice going forward. We've tested these extensively and they have good compatiblity across all devices. There are other varieties of NTAG tags: NTAG 213, NTAG 215 and so on. These all work just as well, and only differ in the amount of data they they store, which GDS does not need. We recommend you use only NTAG tags.

NFC tags are also sensitive to location - when mounting on or very near metal, special tags with an isolating layer are required. These tags cost more, and may have a reduced scan distance compared to normal tags.

With GDS supporting both NFC tags and barcodes, it's perfectly acceptable to use either or even both types simultaneously in the field at once. An example might be to use NFC tags in places barcodes might be abused, and barcodes on metal surfaces or places that are hard to reach. The holy grail may in fact be an NFC tag with a barcode printed on it - this would be compatible with both systems at once!