BMW Multifunction Smart Key (press release)

MadCow809

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BMW's new multifunction smart keyfob is capable of acting as:

- Comfort access keyfob
- credit card
- electronic ticket pass (for bus, trains, airplanes)
- provide the driver with in-car access to a host of personalized services through BMW's ConnectedDrive.
- stores personalized settings for your BMW, such as radio stations and address books for mobile phones


PRESS RELEASE

Car key of the future with integrated credit card

BMW Group Research and Technology has developed a prototype for a multifunctional car key which enables cashless payment and personalised vehicle access. "As part of our research project we first integrated a security chip into the key casing, which communicates across short distances by radio with a card reader," says Hans-J?rg V?gel, project manager at BMW Group Forschung und Technik. In future the key could also be used for other transport systems. Indeed, electronic tickets for bus, train and air travel could all be stored on the chip. The credit card function in the security chip allows electronic payments to be carried out quickly, securely and conveniently from the prototype key.

Adding a personalised credit card function to the car key opens the door to a wealth of other mobility scenarios. For example, the holder of the key can enjoy secure in-car access to personal data since the key gives the driver authorised online access to his personalised ConnectedDrive services inside a BMW - not only when he's travelling in his own car, but also from a BMW hire car, for example. Here, the driver identifies himself using his personal key and the car adopts his individual settings. Access to personal data such as address books, favourite radio stations and personal subscriptions to services and content providers is activated through the multifunctional key.

Because the driver can be identified with total certainty, the key can now - for the first time - be linked to the car owner rather than any particular car. This also makes hiring cars and car sharing, for instance, even easier.

"With the concept of integrating a cashless payment function into a car key, we are working on ways of linking up vehicle technology and lifestyle," says Prof. Raymond Freymann, Director of BMW Group Research and Technology.

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So, if someone steals your car keys, they also steal your credit card and your plane ticket?

Nice.
 
Never had your credit card stolen before???


Is it so hard to make a phone call and ask them to put a stop on your credit card??? Same procedure, just because your credit card isn't linked to your key, it doesn't mean that people won't steal them.


As for the plane ticket, it seems that you've never used an e-ticket before, they can re-issue you an e-ticket within 10min. Besides, you are required to show your passport/ID at the airport, it's not like the thief can get away with your ticket.


So at the end of the day, the only thing you will lose is the key. Everything else you can pretty much recover without any issues.
 
they think that BMW drivers will ever use a train or plane? :lol:

we know they all prefer to drive the "ultimate driving machine"

srlsy though, it's a cool idea to have one thing that pays for everything, but isn't that what credit/debit cards are for?
I don't think it's a good idea to add this functionality to the key, it doesn't need it
 
As it stands now, if I forget where my car keys are, I just worry about if I left them in my pants when I did wash.

If I get one of these BMW hyper-keys, if I forget where my car keys are, I'm gonna have to worry about whether I should call the credit card company.


They give me the plastic card, anyway, so I might as well use it. The ticketing thing, though, is a neat idea.
 
Yay more pointless gimmicks!

I don't want to walk around with some "key" the size of an old cell phone in my pocket when it really does nothing special.

RFID credit cards are nothing new, hell that technology came out like 5 years ago. And is saving a few seconds really worth the huge security loophole those things have? I don't want to have my # stolen because my key in my pocket was scanned by somebody.

Able to get E-tickets? :rofl: You would still have to be at an airport that had these, you would still have to wait in a line to use it, so really the only time you're saving is the time it takes to put your credit card in and hit print. Sweet I can go wait for my plane at the gate 20 seconds sooner!!!!

And the last bit? That helps what 1% of BMW owners? You can already store info (radio stations seat position) on your car, and sync up your cell phone so "storing numbers" is pointless. Who doesn't have a blue tooth cell phone that has a bmw? So for the BMW owner who drives many different BMWs in a week that's slightly helpful since they don't have to reprogram the radio or move the seat (how lazy) but for the rest of the people who buy the car their BMW is the only one they drive so....
 
Never had your credit card stolen before???


Is it so hard to make a phone call and ask them to put a stop on your credit card??? Same procedure, just because your credit card isn't linked to your key, it doesn't mean that people won't steal them.


As for the plane ticket, it seems that you've never used an e-ticket before, they can re-issue you an e-ticket within 10min. Besides, you are required to show your passport/ID at the airport, it's not like the thief can get away with your ticket.


So at the end of the day, the only thing you will lose is the key. Everything else you can pretty much recover without any issues.

Puh-lease, I was trying to make a joke! :D

Overall, I think it's a stupid idea, just let the key be akey, nothing else..
 
Overall, I think it's a stupid idea, just let the key be akey, nothing else..

The one thing that should go in a key is three lights at the top, one of which points in the direction of the car at the push of a button.

For those of us who frequently forget where we parked in large car parks.
 
Another useless feature to speed up the world and it would be BMW. I think the world would do itself some good if it slowed down and took a breath.

Also I am a lot less guarded of my car keys than my wallet, if anything this just makes it easier for someone to steal...whatever
 
Don't forget, every time you take your Bimmer in for service, they'll download all the info where you've made purchases and sell that off to the highest bidder.
 
An answer to a question no-one's asked? I think so.

Really, are credit cards all that tricky & bulky to carry around? Of course not. And this 'solution' assumes you're always carrying your car key, even when you're not using your car to get around. Pointless.
 
And this 'solution' assumes you're always carrying your car key, even when you're not using your car to get around. Pointless.
Yeah, i love the function with which you can buy train tickets with your car keys. I mean, why the hell would you want to buy a train ticket if you've got a car and keys for it? It's not like buyers of new BMWs will be so broke that they can't afford the petrol to just drive there? And then, how difficult will it be to sell your car? Will you have to go through a hundred different institutions to get the new owner's info on the key? Or just spend half a hour inputting all your info on the key through some console in the dealership?

I'll tell you, i like gadgets, but this seems like a crap idea.
 
I disagree, I find this idea quite cool, let's think about it, the purpose of this key is that it does everything, this means you won't have to carry as much stuff around and therefore the only thing you need to worry about are your car keys.

Then again I'm 13 and I like anything that's shiny and does something cool. :lol:

Yeah, i love the function with which you can buy train tickets with your car keys. I mean, why the hell would you want to buy a train ticket if you've got a car and keys for it? It's not like buyers of new BMWs will be so broke that they can't afford the petrol to just drive there? And then, how difficult will it be to sell your car? Will you have to go through a hundred different institutions to get the new owner's info on the key? Or just spend half a hour inputting all your info on the key through some console in the dealership?

I'll tell you, i like gadgets, but this seems like a crap idea.

It's not like they're stupid, they'll probably have a format function integrated in the car
 
Yay more pointless gimmicks!

I don't want to walk around with some "key" the size of an old cell phone in my pocket when it really does nothing special.

RFID credit cards are nothing new, hell that technology came out like 5 years ago. And is saving a few seconds really worth the huge security loophole those things have? I don't want to have my # stolen because my key in my pocket was scanned by somebody.

Able to get E-tickets? :rofl: You would still have to be at an airport that had these, you would still have to wait in a line to use it, so really the only time you're saving is the time it takes to put your credit card in and hit print. Sweet I can go wait for my plane at the gate 20 seconds sooner!!!!

And the last bit? That helps what 1% of BMW owners? You can already store info (radio stations seat position) on your car, and sync up your cell phone so "storing numbers" is pointless. Who doesn't have a blue tooth cell phone that has a bmw? So for the BMW owner who drives many different BMWs in a week that's slightly helpful since they don't have to reprogram the radio or move the seat (how lazy) but for the rest of the people who buy the car their BMW is the only one they drive so....

RFID has been around for much longer than 5 years but who cares? As you mentioned cell phones. Why not allow you to code your cellphone to do all of those things? Pretty much everyone will have the phone on them at all times anyways and being able to use them for other stuff wouldn't suck.
I disagree, I find this idea quite cool, let's think about it, the purpose of this key is that it does everything, this means you won't have to carry as much stuff around and therefore the only thing you need to worry about are your car keys.
You will still have a wallet that holds some cash and your ids at the very least. Why not carry a card or two? They don't take much space. You are also still carryign cell phone and probably an MP3 player on you more or less. This really wouldn't save you anything.
 
I disagree, I find this idea quite cool, let's think about it, the purpose of this key is that it does everything, this means you won't have to carry as much stuff around and therefore the only thing you need to worry about are your car keys.
But, let's see what i regularly have in my pocket and which of those the super key could replace:
-Wallet: Can't replace that, since i'll still need it for cash and even if i totally get rid of the cash, the driver's license, different small paper items and given that it's not localized, the bonus cards for stores etc..
-Keys: Well, i don't think this could really be the universal key for everything, so no, that won't go either.
-Cell phone (which, for me at least is also the portable media player and the camera): No, unless i can get my car keys integrated on my cell phone, which would mean that the car keys would go, not the cell phone.
-The headset for the cell phone/mp3 player: I can't do without that one either as long as i carry a portable music player, and even if i could, it wouldn't be down to the car keys to replace it.

Obviously, i see that this is only from my perspective, but anyone who sees a considerable amount of items go from their pocket/purse/other storage container because their car keys become smart, please report. Maybe you'll prove this idea's usefulness to me.
 
Meh, this is just bound to complicate things while it tries to simplify. It's always like that.

And what's with the last picture with the Apple laptop? There's some serious editing going on there... the MacBook Pro is at least 3x thicker than that.
 
this means you won't have to carry as much stuff around and therefore the only thing you need to worry about are your car keys.
But it means I'll have to combine the worry of losing my credit cards and my fare tickets into my car keys... so yeah, the only thing I would worry about is losing my car keys, but that worry would be a whole lot more amplified.
 
And what's with the last picture with the Apple laptop? There's some serious editing going on there... the MacBook Pro is at least 3x thicker than that.

Yeah, and check out the Windows screen shot!
 
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