Digital keys on Audi, BMW and Ford thanks to UWB

The short range and high bandwidth on which UWB is based allows for precise location detection and high levels of security , such as driver authentication and automatic unlocking of the car door. According to the BMW press release, with Digital Key Plus it will be impossible to carry out pirate attacks by intercepting the radio signal, precisely due to UWB.

UWB uses small standardized, low-power pulses from multiple parts of the car to track the position of the driver and automatically open the car when the driver himself is particularly close to the door handle.

BMW and Apple worked together inside the Car Connectivity Consortium to develop an open standard based on UWB, which allows other car manufacturers to issue digital keys of this type. It is not clear when Digital Key Plus will debut: we know that it will arrive together with BMW iNext , but the Bavarian house has not yet indicated a timing for the launch of its new fully electric SAV .

Also from Samsung comes a very similar announcement: will collaborate with Audi, BMW, Ford and Genesis for the release of applications digital key for both iPhone and Android . Samsung is also part of the Car Connectivity Consortium, as well as the FiRa Consortium , but it is currently unclear whether it will rely on, like BMW, on Apple’s UWB technology.

If Samsung couldn’t have access to UWB it could fall back on NFC , that is the technology that allows, among other things, to make contacless payments. In the latter case, however, the driver would be required to extract the smartphone to bring it to the car door (similar to what happens with the current BMW Digital Key technology).

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