Slashdot Mirror
Volvo Wants You To Ditch Car Keys For Its New Smartphone App (dailydot.com)
An anonymous reader quotes an article on DailyDot: Lending your car to a friend could be as easy as sending a text. That's the future Volvo is imaging with its smartphone app that enables keyless entry for the driver -- and anyone with permission to enter. Announced earlier this year and now prominently on display at the New York International Auto Show, the app does away with key fobs and puts the key right on the user's phone. Using the device's Bluetooth capability, the app can do just about everything that a standard key could do -- from unlocking the doors to popping open the trunk to even starting the engine of the vehicle without turning the ignition. Beyond just convenience for the primary holder, the Volvo app also allows others to take the wheel without requiring a physical key. Users are able to grant digital keys to others, allowing them temporary or ongoing access to the car.
Someone will forget to charge their phone when parked in the desert.
134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
... that this will be secured in a fashion consistent with the auto industry's stellar record on vehicle security.
Sounds exactly like what Tesla has had for several years now.
This is great news, particularly since Bluetooth is so secure. And nothing could ever go wrong here.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
I'm not sure how this is more convenient for the main user... compare "get keys out of pocket, click button, put keys in ignition" to "get phone out of pocket, unlock phone, open app, press button on app"... OK, it's one less thing to carry, but then you'd probably end up carrying the keys anyway as backup in case your phone died or the app crashed.
I've been experimenting with home automation. While having lights come on automatically via various rules is nice, it's a pain to go into the app to turn them on and off manually when you need to - easier to get up, walk across the room and flick a switch. This feels similar - a solution in search of a problem
Sigs are so 1990s. No way would I be seen dead with one.
We had keys specifically so that a physical device is required. That's a security feature. Otherwise, a combination lock would let anyone with knowledge of the combination to enter -- which could easily be sent by text message.
I don't lend my car to random people, on a whim, without them having a key already. Sorry, that's not a thing.
And, again, I don't need remote access to my car, any more than I needed remote access to my VCR's eject button.
....two weeks ago at the Apple store (iSight camera replacement).
It was like 2-3 hour turnaround, and I left my phone at the store and drove home and then drove back later when it was finished.
I think this is a pretty stupid concept unless it's totally supplementary/optional to having a fob of some sort. My existing Volvo keyless drive fob has an actual key that can be pulled out. I only ever use it to activate the valet lock (locks the glove box and trunk), but if I recall what they told me when I picked it up it can also unlock the driver's door and somehow allow you to start the car, too.
I like the keyless drive setup and can't begin to see how a smartphone app would be more convenient than either a pushbutton fob or even analog keys. The last thing I want to do in -20F is fuck around with my phone and ungloved hand to unlock the damn car.
What's wrong with carrying a key fob? So if someone steals my phone they also, by extension, steal my car? Sorry...I'm not willing to put that on a device (phone) that is often stolen and frequently hacked.
I give it about 2.5 hours before it's cracked the first time.
Tesla, a company with roots in technology and computers sucks at security. Microsoft, Google, Apple and slews of others (including the overwhelming Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, etc... community) could not on the best day make Bluetooth secure. I'm buying a BMW i3 right now which is extremely smart phone friendly and already know that simply because it's made by BMW it's an open hack fest since BMW is great at making things like drive trains and leather seats, when it comes to anything electronic, they're idiots.
So, here comes the infamous Volvo... a company who specializes in making automotive dinosaurs and they're going to make technology like this?
I believe Amy (Big Bang Theory) explained Volvo best when she made the statement "She was the only girl who would pass out drunk at wild college parties and wake up with more clothes on". That's Volvo in a nut shell... they could sell cars without any locks or security and people still wouldn't steal them.
For reasons others mentioned (dead battery, etc) it's likely not a total replacement for a key or fob. However, it could be a great extension or companion to a key or fob. E.G. if you lost your fob, or you want to grant access to a friend, to either drive the car, or retrieve items from the car, that part is cool. Even if the bluetooth raises a security concern (and I doubt current key fobs are much if any better), at least with a smart phone app there is the possibility to update the app and fix security issues unlike key fobs.
What's the point of remote access to any device that is useful only if you are physically present near it?
No sig today.
...you insensitive clod.
No, seriously. I don't have a phone. If I did have a phone, I wouldn't carry it everywhere. This is the opposite of useful.
Good job, Volvo.
Sigh..
It is if you need to get in to the car to pop the hood (or trunk depending on model) to charge the battery!!
Or are you just planning to walk away and buy a new car?
Seriously, why does every damn thing now need to be controlled by a cellphone? It makes zero sense to network the security of your car.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.