Hyundai Patent Shows Cell-Phone Disabling Technology

by Cameron Aubernon

Published: April 16th, 2015

hyundai patent shows cell phone disabling technology

Can’t put down the smartphone while driving? Hyundai has a patent for technology that can render it as dumb as a Motorola DynaTAC.

Autoblog reports the patent shows technology that “limits or disables the use of some of mobile device features which could cause distraction to the user.” The system determines when and what to disable on a phone based on vehicle speed, time of day, importance of message, and other factors, and can do so either at the driver’s seat or the entire vehicle.

According to the patent, this is done with cellular-signal-monitoring antennas placed throughout the cabin. When an antenna detects a signal, the system performs the tasks needed to disable functions that would otherwise hinder a driver’s ability to maintain vigilance. However, the system requires the phone in question to have firmware that would accept the former’s commands.

#DistractedDriving #Hyundai #Patents #Smartphones

Cameron Aubernon

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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11 of 31 comments

George B on Apr 16, 2015

I predict that this patent will never be used. Who pays? Certainly not the cellular carriers. Auto manufacturers aren't going to add this unless mandated by government and they're going to push back at least as hard as the cellular carriers. If mandated, it would be like parental controls built into every television, but rarely set up and turned on. The huge technical challenge in building this patent into a car is that if would have to cover all the communications standards and frequency bands used by cell phones by any carrier for the life of the car. No way the cellular license holders are going to allow any transmitter to use their spectrum without having total control over those transmitters and/or collecting money from anyone using their spectrum.

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Pch101 on Apr 16, 2015

This won't be legal in the US, even if does work. (Transmitting without a license is illegal, but for exceptions such as CB radios.)

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- George B on Apr 16, 2015
  
  Pch, cellular carriers do operate femtocell tiny base stations as well as all the individual cell phone transmitters under their licenses. They could legally set this up in exchange for control over the hardware and a monthly fee. However, if the hardware is built into the car, the PITA factor of upgrading the hardware and software makes this a tough sell unless they can bill a lot of money for the service. It's hard to imagine most consumers paying a large extra monthly charge to make their cell phone less capable.
  
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- Psarhjinian on Apr 16, 2015
  
  Correct: transmitting on public, unregulated bands (27MHz, 900MHz, 2.4GHz, 5GHz) is legal, but there are restrictions on transmit power. Cellphones use regulated bands. The only legal way to block those is a Faraday cage. Hyundai seems to be talking about either a picocell in the car (good luck with that!), or a device that could command the either the baseband or the operating system. Good luck with that, too
  
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- Pch101 on Apr 16, 2015
  
  @George B Jamming an authorized transmission is illegal. That's what this would effectively being doing, as the phone carriers are licensed to operate and we are paying them to use their bandwidth and, by extension, their licenses to operate. That jamming dog won't hunt under federal law. This may be legal elsewhere, but not in the US.
  
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- Sitting@home on Apr 16, 2015
  
  @Pch101 You don't really need to jam it, just to know it's going on. Once detected it could disable the engine next time the car comes to a full stop, or restrict the maximum speed to 30mph, or wind back the seat-belts and throttle the driver :-)
  
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- WheelMcCoy on Apr 16, 2015
  
  @sitting@home Or Siri, Ok Google, or Cortana could pipe up and warn the driver that it's dangerous to use the phone under current conditions. Their actions could slowly escalate from warning, to disconnecting the call, or notifying the state trooper. Ok, forget the last one.
  
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Bradysdad on Apr 16, 2015

Cell Phones have GPS chips, so they know if they are moving. Hussein Bolt can only run 20MPH, and even he can't text at that speed. Just shut down all features except 911 if the phone is moving over 20MPH.

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- S2k Chris on Apr 17, 2015
  
  So no one anywhere gets to use their phone riding in a car/bus/train/etc? Come on. The whole point of this tech is the hyper-local geofence that restricts it just to the driver's seat. Quite frankly, given that road deaths have no skyrocketed even though we're all neck deep in our iPhones at all times, I think this is a feel-good thing looking for a real application.
  
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- WheelMcCoy on Apr 17, 2015
  
  >>Just shut down all features except 911 if the phone is moving over 20MPH. Umm... my phone uses cellular data for NAV. And sometimes, I give my son the phone to call Grandpa to tell him we are just coming off the highway and almost there. Other times, I use bluetooth handsfree calling. Should all these features simply be shut down when I am moving faster than 20mph?
  
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VenomV12 on Apr 16, 2015

If you install nannies and try to dictate my actions I will exercise my right to not buy your product.

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