It may soon be possible for Oulu residents to order meals just by the touch of a phone.  The City of Oulu has been testing new touch technology based on NFC (Near Field Communication) as part of the SmartTouch project and the results look promising.

The City's elderly care department, its catering service Oulun Ateria and logistics firm Oulun Logistiikka have been involved in a pilot project involving ordering meals for the elderly based on touch technology. The elderly have Nokia NFC enabled mobile phones: by touching the NFC tags on the daily menu with the phone, a meal can be ordered for home delivery.

The only parts of the service that the customer has anything to do with are ordering and receiving the meal. Touching the menu sets an extensive service process in motion: Oulun Ateria receives the order electronically in its database and prepares the meal accordingly. It is not possible for a customer to be left without a meal, because the pilot monitors the successful completion of the order of each elderly person taking part in the project.

The City's sport and education departments have also taken part in the project. People in Oulu using the gym in Pohjankartano School in the evenings have NFC enabled phones programmed to provide access to the facility on given days and times. The user uses the phone to touch the reader next to the door to open the door.

The technology can also be used to pay for public transport tickets, another area where Oulu is piloting the system. The user touches their phone to a reader which deducts the relevant amount.