At the end of 2014, we covered the move that General Motors was making towards the implementation of keyless ignitions in a majority of the vehicle models that they make. This signaled the beginning of what could be a slow death of traditional bladed car keys, but a Toronto company wants to take this idea a step further. The Globe and Mail in Canada has the scoop on Keyfree technologies, a start up which is aiming to revolutionize the car key game even further than the introduction of keyless ignition systems would.
Smart Phones as Car Keys
Keyfree’s aim is extremely similar to what August and Lockitron want to accomplish with their smart technology enabled residential locks. Users would be able to install the device on their vehicle and then operate that vehicle through an application on their smart phone. Not only would this allow for the car owner to start the vehicle while they were in the car, but also remotely. In addition to remote function, car owners would be able to send, and remove, key access to other smart phones in just a matter of moments.
While sending access via smart phone will certainly lead to some security concerns fro car owners, Keyfree is angling, at least initially, to dealerships and rental car companies. Without having to constantly grab keys, or have copies made, these types of businesses could certainly benefit from the convenience that Keyfree is offering. However, these initial security concerns are certainly not to be taken lightly. Residential locks faced heavy scrutiny due to safety concerns when they originally hit the market and the scrutiny is sure to be stronger for Keyfree due to the ability for criminals to easily vanish with a vehicle once they have access. One way to alleviate this concern is the additional GPS tracking feature which Keyfree uses. Using the GPS feature car owners would not only give police vital information if their car was stolen, but can also be used in everyday situations, like finding your car when you have forgotten where you parked. You can view Keyfree’s informational video below to see some of the features that they are eager to offer.
It will be interesting to see how the retail market will react to the introduction of Keyfree’s product, but the features they offer certainly fall in line with the technical advancements which are expected to come to the security market in the next few years. The introduction of this product will also make for an interesting dynamic in the development of keyless ignitions and their fobs. Will major automotive manufacturers continue to make a slow change over to keyless ignitions before making the leap to smart keys? Or, will they seize this new technology and take their vehicles further down the path of technical advancement? Stay tuned to Phila-Locksmith’s blog posts to get updated information, or voice your opinion in the comments below. Would you feel secure using your smart phone as a key for your car or do the security concerns scare you away? Major automotive manufacturers will have to make that choice soon as technology like this continues to find its way into more and more vehicles.