NFC OOB Pairing?

Hi All,
I have the simple tag working just fine, is this possible/supported? Nordic has a few examples (inluding the HR demo), but unclear how/if I can do this with Espruino.

Thanks in advance,
Bill

I'm afraid it's not something that is specifically tested/supported, but potentially you could create a custom NFC tag with http://www.espruino.com/Reference#l_NRF_­nfcRaw

I'm not sure what multi-device support is like, but IMO a nice easy solution for NFC pairing would be to set Espruino up with a passcode: http://www.espruino.com/BLE+Security

And then set an NFC URL of http://mywebsite?addr=bt:ad:dr:es:ss&pas­scode=123456. I believe you can then hook that URL to an app (and set that page to redirect to the relevant app store) and can work from there?

Thanks for the quick response @Gordon! I have a couple of issues with the approach you suggest: security risk, and the web-connectivity requirement that it presents. Both of them are non-starters for the application. What I really need is OOB pairing using the NFC interface.

I'll be going to C code for the final implementation, but was hoping to use Espruino for the 25 prototypes I'm building. It didn't seem supported at this point, but I thought I'd ask. Put it in the 'enhancements' bucket and see if anyone else is interested in this support going forward?

Thanks again,
Bill

If anyone else really needs this, post up here and let me know.

If this'll result in 25 Espruino board sales then I could definitely look into adding it for you - although obviously if there aren't sales there's not so much motivation to add it. I'm also open to consulting, or it may be that it's actually easier for you to just modify the Espruino firmware to add OOB pairing yourself? It may not be a big deal.

Thanks @Gordon! I've already purchased 30 MDBT modules for DigiKey for this project, so the sale has already been made :-} I think touch-to-pair, OOB pairing is a great way to get good authentication and help make our solutions secure.

I'll keep the consulting offer in mind, but may indeed go and do a custom version based on the Nordic examples (HR, in particular). If I do so and get it working, I'd happily contribute it back.

That being said, I don't know how many Espruino implementations have a need for good security, but commercial products have an increasing visibility. See the story today about Russian hackers using iOT devices as entry points to hack larger systems. My $0.02, as we say in the US (conversion to local currencies left to the reader).

Thanks again! Bill

Tue 2019.08.06

Hi Bill, hate to be a buzz-kill, just an observation here,

'I've already purchased 30 MDBT modules for DigiKey'

With the quantities onhand at DigiKey, I'm guessing that those are not the ones pre-loaded with Espruino, and not providing support for Gordon and Espruino either.

For future reference,
I feel that Gordon probably could have beaten that price, if purchased direct, or through a distributor with several weeks advanced notice.

If flashing each will be a pain, would paying a restocking fee, and ordering Espruino pre-loaded make more sense?

Thanks for the observation @Robin. There's a lot more going on with my project, including a custom flex circuit with a tag-connect JTAG port, so I'm good with what I've got going on.

I've ordered parts directly in the past and was very happy with that and support @Gordon and recommend the Espruino products quite often.

Thanks!
Bill

I've already purchased 30 MDBT modules for DigiKey for this project

For anyone else viewing, you can buy modules from the Espruino shop that have Espruino pre-installed at https://shop.espruino.com/mdbt42q/mdbt42q-module (the Digikey ones won't have Espruino installed).

Espruino shop boards are reasonably competitive with Digikey's (link @Robin posted) price-wise (at 10+ quantities), plus they come with Espruino installed, you get support, and their sales help to fund Espruino - they may just take a few days extra to arrive.

As @billsalt has noted he's bought Espruino hardware in the past and does work both with and without Espruino, so I'm sure he has his reasons and at the end of the day everyone's free to do whatever they want. However in this case if he'd purchased the modules from me I'd probably have been looking seriously at adding the functionality because obviously I want people to buy more Espruino boards, and one of the ways I can do that is by adding features and providing support for the boards I sell.