What is a SmartLink Card?

A SmartLink is a bridge between the real world and your digital Experiences.

What does it look like? Well, on the surface it looks like a 70mm X 70mm square QR Code but it’s a lot more. If you are not familiar with how a QR Code works, it’s a black and white pattern of squares ad rectangles and when you scan a QR code, the QR reader in your phone’s camera deciphers the code, and the resulting information triggers an action on your phone. Using the 42Kites system, it will show the Experience that you configured it to connect to.

But that’s not all.

Embedded inside the small card (which is less than 1mm thick) is a NFC Chip, that means people can simply tap the card with their phone to access the content. No need to open the camera app on your phone and scan the QR Code, simply tapping your device on the card triggers the action.

If you did’t want to see (or use) the QR Code and you wanted to display your own artwork, you could overlay your own artwork on the SmartLink card and just use the tapping (NFC Chip) functionality. You could create something like this and overlay it:

The possibilities are endless, but it gets even better.

Unlike a regular QR Code or NFC Chip that will always link to the same place, you can change where the SmartLink links to at anytime. You don’t even have to physically touch the SmartLink to change the link, it’s easily done through your 42Kites account in just a few clicks.

Note: SmartLinks do NOT require a power source to function.

On the back of the SmartLink card is a PIN that is used to unlock it within your 42Kites account. The back looks like this (note: the PIN has been blurred out in this photo):