BMW Pushes Digital Key Standardization

You might think of BMW as an automaker, but the German company has been quite busy on the technology side of the business. Aside from buying up all kinds of tech startups in the past few years, the Bavarians have been pushing for a standardization for digital car keys. That might sound weird, but if you have an app on your phone that allows you to lock or unlock your vehicle remotely, you’re already using such a thing.

What exactly does that mean? BMW explains it in a recent press release as creating an “ecosystem” where users could do new things remotely with their cars using any number of different devices. No doubt, BMW is gunning for the same functionality on Apple and Android devices.

This sounds like a good thing. BMW has been working closely with the Car Connectivity Consortium to bring automakers together to find a solution through a new industry standard. One idea is to embed a chip in each smart device that works even when the device battery is completely depleted. It sounds like BMW is talking about a near-field communication, a technology that is used in children’s toys, iPhones, and many other devices. It would mean people aren’t locked out of their car just because their phone is dead, especially since their charger would ironically be located inside.

Another initiative BMW is pushing for is the adoption of UWB 3.0, which would help cut down on the growing number of car thefts through smart key hacking.