IT’S not fun getting into a car when the interior is 130 degrees, but that’s a typical problem during the summer for those who live in a city like Phoenix, where outside temperatures can regularly soar well past 100.
But Sean O’Gorman 32, a software product manager, never needs to endure a furnacelike cabin. As an owner of a Tesla Model S, he opens an smartphone app a few minutes before he gets into the car and remotely starts his air-conditioner.
The app can do things that previously only a physical key could do, and more: Start the engine, unlock the doors, turn on the heat and monitor the battery.
Tesla is not alone in offering those sorts of options; BMW, General Motors and Volvo, among other manufacturers, offer apps that perform similar functions.
They are just the latest step in the evolution of the car key away from the standard metal shaft used for decades, and still often used today, to unlock and start cars.
Now, car keys — or key fobs, as they are also known — include chips to prevent theft, cannot be duplicated at the local locksmith and often never have to be removed from pockets.
But despite the advances, it will be a while, if ever, before smartphone apps entirely replace keys that drivers carry around. Too many problems exist — like a slow data network or a dead phone battery — to rely on smartphones alone, experts say.
That’s because customers are purchasing cars with so-called PEPS, or Passive Entry, Passive Start capabilities. Rather than needing to pull out a key from one’s pocket or purse, the key sends a signal to the car that it’s nearby, and the car creates a digital “handshake” with the authorized key. Touching the door’s handle unlocks it, and the car is started by pushing a button. The car cannot be locked if the key is left in the car.
If a cellphone’s battery dies, or there is no data signal available to send an unlocking or engine start command to the car, the driver would be stranded.
And then there’s cost. Someone will have to pay for the data that will be needed to transfer information from the smartphone to the car, and it most likely will be the driver, who will have to tap into a monthly data subscription plan.
Using a smartphone as a virtual key also presents unsolved security and privacy concerns. There is also the challenge of how to transfer car activation capabilities to a new owner’s smartphone if the car is sold.
A smartphone could work in conjunction with that key. For example, the phone can track a driver’s location, and then, if the driver agrees, present information about or opportunities near that location.
Both Audi and Volvo are experimenting with systems that allow groceries and packages to be delivered to the trunks of cars, with the owner notified of each entry. Car keys could also be authorized and then de-authorized for rental car drivers.
Ninety-five percent of the time, a car sits there doing nothing. There are huge possibilities when keys are digital.
To see the original article go to The New York Times.
