An industry-wide standard for offering remote start and other car control functions from a smartphone could be available by the end of the year.
It will provide a simpler interface for letting you remote start and unlock/lock your car from a smartphone. The standard was requested by several car companies who are finding that some consumers are not using their car control functions from a phone due to the complexity of the apps.
Where currently users might have to launch an app and go through a menu or two, the standard will attempt to make this process faster and easier.
The Connected Car Consortium (CCC) is developing the standard. This is the same group behind the MirrorLink standard, which attempted to do what Android Auto and CarPlay now provide–offer a simple user interface for connecting your phone to your car radio.
Alpine, JVCKenwood, Clarion, Harman, Pioneer and Sony are among the car audio members of the CCC. Additionally 16 car companies and 7 phone makers are members.
Several aftermarket remote start makers said they had no comment on the CCC initiative.
But DroneMobile said it already offers a simple user interface. It takes only 2 to 3 seconds to remote start the car from its smartphone system and there’s just one simple button to press, it said.
President of the CCC Alan Ewing said, “A couple of our automotive partners are seeing the value of standardization so there’s a more uniform and robust experience.” He said that people have a certain expectation for interacting with the smartphone as a key and they would like it to be as simple as possible.
The new CCC Smartphone as Key standard would include very robust safety encryption and it would also allow other more advanced uses of smartphones as keys. If you envision an “Airbnb for cars” the system could include a simple ride sharing function where others could use your car with a code you could send to their phone. Your teen could use the code when authorized to use the car. This technology could also be used by fleet managers.
“We’re seeing a real transition in the way we use cars and ride sharing is a real thing. This is another way to help enable that and make something that really works for folks,” he said.
Ewing believes creating the Smartphone as Key standard will be simpler than launching the MirrorLink standard. Engineers are expected to begin work on the standard soon. They will make decisions such as whether the smartphone will use Bluetooth or NFC or both in connecting with the car.
But given the lag time of the car companies bringing products to market, we might see the first Smartphone for Key products in 2018 or 2019, said Ewing.
MirrorLink is a standard more than 5 years old for syncing your phone with a car radio so the radio screen can mirror the functions on your phone. It has been offered in select radios from JVC, Alpine, Sony, Pioneer and Clarion but it seems to have been replaced by Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. (Apple never joined the CCC nor supported MirrorLink).
We asked if Apple might be interested in the new Smartphone for Key standard. Ewing said, “We hope to get them interested. The auto makers are also pushing for universal solutions. The Smartkey approach to vehicles, and making that universal across all phones, has serious advantages. I could see the auto makers saying ‘We’d like to have one standard.’ As for Apple, we’ll engage them, but Apple is Apple.”
Get the news before your competitors do. CEoutlook is the daily brief read by over 6,500 dealers, reps and manufacturers across the mobile electronics industry. Subscribe free.
