Thought about using your smart phone as your car key?

So much is moving to your smart phone these days it was only a matter of time before the car key would move there as well. Going out in the car, we gather up the wallet, phone, house and car keys.

Bosch is working to lighten the load by incorporating all the functions of your car key onto your smartphone, while adding some intriguing new functionality.

Bosch is a world leading multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart in Germany.

The app works by using Bluetooth to detect when your phone is approaching the vehicle, then unlocking the door for you once you are close by.

The app is compatible with any Bluetooth-equipped smartphone and allows users to send a virtual key to anyone you should need to access or drive your car. “Send me you key and I’ll pick-up the car for you”.

Bosch is unveiling the latest version of this technology at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Germany. Before the technology arrives in your pocket, car manufacturers will need to get on board, making sure proximity sensors are installed.

These sensors measure how far away the driver’s smartphone is from the car. They also register what direction the driver is approaching from.

The control unit administers the digital security key and ensures that the smartphone, cloud, and vehicle systems communicate.

There’s always the worry that you could lose your phone, it drops and breaks or it runs out of battery. Bosch has been working on a solution so that the digital key can be accessed online.

You could block access to the vehicle while you organise a replacement phone and download the app.

The list of items made virtually redundant by your smartphone continues to expand. Items like the MP3 player, a torch, GPS devices, walkie-talkies, map books, cameras, e-readers, calculators, bike computers, personal organisers and so on. Now Bosch has your car keys as the next thing to make redundant.

October 2018