The mobile phone as a contactless ticket

Abstract

This thesis is the result of a thorough process that started the fall of 2005. It began with a brief study of the possibilities offered by NFC, and continued to look at the technology from the perspective of using the mobile phone as a smartcard for payment and ticketing. The process then continued with a thorough study of existing smartcard standards, communication protocols and technology for realizing a solution. The work continued with an analysis of the problem at hand and exploring the requirements such a system would have to meet. The analysis led to a design which has been implemented into a working prototype. The development process of the thesis has followed the outline given in section 1.5. The evaluation and conclusion steps are carried out in regards to the result of this thesis. They are not the result of an evaluation and conclusion regarding the complete electronic ticketing system. The discussion and conclusion sections will still include elements from the complete system, but they can not be considered results from the design science process. The described system and implementation can be analyzed in many ways, but two important ones are part of the thesis discussion. Section 8.1 provides a discussion of the technical solution and the choices that will guide further development. Section 8.2 looks at the system from a more commercial view. The system is based on an analysis of user needs, and the accuracy of these analyses most likely has impact on the user adoption and commercial success of the system.