Introduction: Ricardo

Ricardo is a DIY introduction to RFID task automation.

By placing your phone on the dock, your phone acts as a key that opens up infinite opportunities like setting a timer for productivity hacks, opening up a slideshow of your photos to play in the background, or playing a video.

Ricardo encourages makers to create their own task automations and share them with the community. Create your own cards and assign tasks to them, turn old postcards into live stories, and so much more!

Step 1: What You'll Need

From the art store

a 1” block of wood

a 1/4” dowel

From home

a ruler

a pencil

a printer

scissors

At the shop

a table saw

a drill press

a belt sander

a chop or mitre saw

For the magic

NFC stickers

postcards or printed matter

an Android phone with trigger installed

Step 2: Print

Print and cut out this this template as a visual aid.

Step 3: Cut the Block and Mark It

Cut a 1” thick block of wood down to 2 7/8" x 4 3/4" x 1”.

Draw lines 1/2” and 1” away from the length edge with a pencil then draw lines 1” away from the width edge with a pencil. These will be for the holes later.

Draw a line 1” and 11/2” from the unmarked length edge. This will be a the phone slot.

Set the blade of the table saw to 1/2” above the table.

Set the fence to 1” and run the block through.

Nudge the fence, adding about an 1/8” each time and run the block through until you hit the second line.

Step 4: Make the Holes

Mark or punch the 4 intersections, these will be holes.

Drill a 1/4’’ hole at the marked intersections, preferably with a drill press.

Step 5: Round the Corners

Place the template on your block and trace out the rounded corners.

On the belt sander, sand off the corners until you reach your marked line.

Step 6: Add the Dowels

Cut the 1/4” dowel into 4 lengths of 4 3/4” and place them in the 4 holes.

Step 7: Tag Your Card

Place an NFC Sticker on the back, bottom right of a post card or cutout you've created.

If you're making your own card, cut it to 6" x 3.25"

Step 8: Set Up As Task on Trigger

On your android device, download trigger. Once you've downloaded trigger, create a new task by clicking the green (+) button on the bottom right.

Select NFC, then Next, then Done.

At the bottom of this page, click Next to create a trigger. Select Applications & Shortcuts, then select Open a URL/URI, then click Next.

Enter the URL you with to send your device to when it is put in the dock. Select Add to task.

Name your task, Select Done, then approach the NFC sticker you've placed on your card to assign it.

Voila! You've created a Trigger using NFC automation!