Paper subway tickets in Montreal have an NFC chip in them that's about the size of a grain of salt and get their power from the radio signal broadcast from the reader in the ticket gate.
To use the Montreal subway (the Métro), you tap a paper ticket against the turnstile and it opens. The ticket works through a system called NFC, but what's happening internally? How does the ticket work without a battery? How does it communicate with the turnstile? And how can it be so cheap that you can throw the ticket away after one use? To answer these questions, I opened up a ticket and examined the tiny chip inside.
This is mind-boggling tech that reminds me of the smart dust in Vernor Vinge's 1999 science fiction novel, A DEEPNESS ON THE SKY. And the chips cost only 9 cents.
Great research and analysis of the tech in this article.
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