■? The car companies want to revolutionize the life of the car key
June 23, Apple in the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) officially released a digital car key function CarKey iOS?14, the user can only use the iPhone or Apple Watch can be locked, unlocked and start the car. BMW will be one of the first car companies to use CarKey, and the 2021 BMW 5 Series will be the first to carry it. In addition, most BMW models built after July 1 of this year will support the CarKey feature. Digital keys are not the "secret sauce" of Apple and BMW. A few days ago, the CoSmA smartphone digital key developed by the Continental Group, a parts company, received orders from three mainstream automotive companies, the smartphone solution will be integrated into the new generation of automotive architecture, and put into mass production in 2021. Back in 2016, Continental collaborated with Apple and BMW on digital keys for digital key development with UWB technology. Chinese companies are also at the forefront of digital keys. Last September, BYD DiLink joined hands with HUAWEI?AI?PASS to release mobile NFC car keys at the Huawei Developer Conference. According to BYD's conception, to build a digital key ecosystem for users in the whole scene, to help them completely throw away the traditional car key, the owner can use the remote control key through the cloud, but also in the state of no network to use bluetooth key, and even in the state of cell phone powerlessness to use the cell phone NFC car key. Such a design does not lose Apple. Car companies are launching a real "keyless revolution". Auto home preliminary statistics, there are a number of companies in the industry are combining the power of multiple research and development of digital key technology, part of the enterprise products are about to enter the mass production stage. "A car key, help me go all over the world" era is coming to an end, replaced by "omnipotent" smartphone.BMW
Apple
BYD
Changan Automobile
Hyundai
Small Peng Automobile
Jet
Continental
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■? Car key: from tangible to intangible
Tracing the development of the car key, we are surprised to find that this seemingly non-core component has accompanied the automotive industry in one leap after another. Li Ping, R&D Director of Continental Entry Systems Asia, said that the car key has roughly experienced the mechanical key - chip key - remote control key - keyless entry system - digital key several development courses. Every upgrade of the car key is synchronized with the upgrade of the overall automotive technology. At the beginning of the last century, because the engine is not battery-driven, the car key is a "big crank", you need to rely on the hand crank inserted into the front of the car, relying on adult men to vigorously shake in order to start the vehicle. For example, the hand tractor "shaker", in fact, is the earliest car key, such a key for women is very unfriendly. In 1949, Chrysler began using knife keys, which were very similar to household keys. Since then, drivers no longer need to crank the car, which is very convenient for female drivers. It can be said that Chrysler's knife key is a major improvement in automotive keys, but the knife key is also a major security risk, as long as the teeth are correct, you can open the vehicle, which also increases the risk of vehicle theft. With the development of electronic technology, chip keys have also come into being. Chip key (also called anti-theft device) inspired by the pig industry, breeders in order to prevent pigs from getting lost, in the pig's ear to put an anti-theft chip. Then, the chip implanted in the car key, even if the key tooth shape is correct, but also not necessarily unlock and start the vehicle, so that the security of the car is also greatly improved. In recent years, the automobile keyless entry system promotion is also very rapid. "Keyless entry function", that is, when the owner carries the key into the specified range, the vehicle security system and the key is matched correctly, the owner only need to pull the door handle, touch a specific location, or put your hand into the induction area, you can unlock the door, so that eliminates the need to pull out the key to unlock the door steps. Auto home data show that from 2013 to the present, the newly listed models of "keyless entry" and "remote start" function assembly rate gradually increased from the initial no assembly, rose to the present 27.75% and 37.50%. Nowadays, automotive products are further evolving in the direction of intelligence, and car keys also play an important role in the tide of intelligence. In recent years, the concept of automotive "smart key", "virtual key", "digital key" gradually appeared. The car key from the entity to invisible, the future of a cell phone, a password, or even a fingerprint or a face can open the vehicle. As Li Ping said, the continuous innovation of the car key is mainly to improve the user experience and product safety. The keyless entry system can realize the senseless opening and starting, and the digital key is a big change. Into the digital key stage, the car key is not only physical performance enhancement, but also the embodiment of the change of the automobile industry.■? Can intelligence and security be balanced?
Apple developer conference, car-related updates are mainly focused on three aspects: CarPlay system, maps, and mobile smart key. According to the demonstration, the driver takes out his iPhone and simply touches the vehicle to unlock it, and after entering the vehicle, he puts his iPhone into the BMW's smartphone tray to start the car. Even smarter, Apple's digital key can be ****enjoyed with up to five users. Of course, this **** enjoyment is not completely unlimited **** enjoyment, the main user can control the other user's access, such as limiting their driving speed, and even control the vehicle's radio volume. For example, when a BMW owner gives their vehicle to their child over the age of 18, they will be able to keep an eye on their driving and intervene. The Continental and Apple solutions are similar in that, in addition to the regular entry and startup scenarios, the same key authorization and key authority settings are available. The user's authorization is sent to the authorized person by means of a digital key, which the receiver uses to open and start the vehicle. In addition, Continental has expanded other scenarios around the digital key, vehicle management, logistics services, **** enjoyment of the car, vehicle care services, can be completed through the digital key. The intelligence and convenience of digital keys are incomparable to traditional keys, and users don't have to worry about losing or damaging their keys, and the use of scenarios is also more diversified. It is worth mentioning that, in order to avoid the embarrassment caused by the lack of power on the phone, most of the companies launching digital keys use NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, even if the phone is not enough power, or even shut down for about 5 hours, as usual, you can continue to unlock the vehicle, without delaying the owner of the car. From a technical point of view, the digital key has been able to meet the needs of users of all types of scenarios with the car. The lifeblood of the digital key or in the security, which is also a high-risk area of the smart car. As early as 2016, U.S. hackers and domestic teams have cracked the Jeep Liberty Light, Tesla Model?S and other models. To a certain model, for example, the hacker team cracked its Bluetooth PIN code through Ubertooth and other software, and then after the success of mobile devices such as cell phones to connect to Bluetooth, relying on the loopholes between the keyless entry system and the cell phone App control program, it unlocked the door and started the vehicle. There are also industry insiders who believe that digital keys are not yet a very mature program, and that if a smartphone dies, breaks down, or is infected with a virus, it may cause a lot of trouble for the user, and may even pose a significant economic loss and security threat. Overall, digital key security is mainly divided into three major components: first, the background security; second, the storage security of the phone and the controller; and third, the security of the communication link between the vehicle, the phone and the background. The digital key only in the security aspects have enough protection, batch loading can become possible.■? When to enter the keyless era?
"Security is very important, but we should not choke on it." In Li Ping's view, the digital key is technically sufficient to replace the traditional key, under the wave of digitization, vehicle companies, cell phone companies, Internet companies and other service providers, are promoting the development of the digital key, the industry chain is also actively promoting the standardization of digital key industry norms, the digital key will further break the restrictions of the cell phone platform. The advancement of digital keys also depends on users' habits and preferences. From the point of view of the use of scenarios, through the mobile network, Bluetooth, NFC three ways to realize the vehicle unlocking and start, is to meet the user's use of scenarios of the three main technical means. At present, the combination of these three ways, is the best solution for digital keys, whether remote, close, or poor network environment or cell phone off state, can successfully unlock the vehicle. Digital keys will also fit well into future autonomous driving scenarios. In the era of autonomous driving/driverless, the digital key can be used as the customer's identification code for the identification and binding of the passenger's personalized settings. When the passenger opens and enters the vehicle through the digital key, the self-driving vehicle will automatically adjust to the personalized settings for the passenger, thus providing a better experience for the user.Editor's summary: How many years will it take for digital keys to replace traditional keys?
Despite the many benefits of digital keys, it will take some time for them to fully replace traditional keys. First of all, the car stock market is huge, the traditional key still has its own market space; secondly, the digital key still needs the market to further test, this process is not a short time can be completed. Continental Group North America director Mike Crane has said that the traditional car key will not suddenly disappear, the next 5 to 10 years digital key will be with the traditional key **** exist. (Article/Automotive House? Li Qiangguang)