Smartphone-Vehicle Pairing NFC Tech On The Horizon
NFC — near-field communication — technology not only can allow you to buy a My Little Pony: Equestria Girls doll from Walmart (or will, once Walmart et al decide Apple Pay and Google Pay are better than CurrentC), but it may soon allow you to start your car by simply tapping the ignition.
Automotive News reports Netherlands-based NXP Semiconductors will soon offer automotive-grade NFC chips and tags to its clientele, including a first-of-its-kind controller chip that can support numerous functions, such as climate control and seat adjustment, over single-function chips.
The NFC integration cost is expected to be $2 per vehicle, though the price could climb if automakers want their NFC systems to do more than start the engine. Meanwhile, a few operating systems running today’s modern connected-vehicle setups have the ability to use NFC, such as BlackBerry’s QNX.
Though NXP won’t say who among their base have signed up to bring the technology into the automotive market, the company says the first vehicles with their wares will leave the assembly line in 2016.
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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Since VW, Audi, MB, and BMW do not have, even as an option, remote start, what use is this? I got lectures from BMW and Audi last week about even wanting such an option - apparently Germany regards the feature as "un-green". They obviously havr never had to scrape half an inch of freezing rain off a car door as the temperature plunges. The door may be unlocked., but you still cannot get in. A bit of heat from inside helps immensely.
"...chip that can support numerous functions, such as climate control and seat adjustment..." The epic and the mudane: Click... rise no higher, O sinister seas! Click-click... rest thee now, O weary vertebrae!
All German marques currently will not sell you remote start - it's officially regarded as un-green. So are they going to change their minds? Apparently freezing rain never occurs in the land of the mighty Teuton, but it does here. The door may be unlocked but there you are scraping away ice as the temp plunges. I'm in favor of using my phone if it puts the Germans noses out-of-joint.
Will this work with my flip phone?