Per reporter: Sun Lei Per editor: Pei Jianru
With the development of the "new four modernizations" of the industry, the connection between cars and smart phones is becoming closer and closer.
A few days ago, OPPO completed the cooperation with Tesla China on digital car keys, and adapted to the full range of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y models. Prior to this, OPPO also established cooperation with ideal cars, Xiaopeng Automobile, BYD and other car companies to create digital car keys; vivo also launched digital key functions with Xiaopeng Automobile and BYD.
Unlike the traditional car key, which is an integrated remote control key, the digital key has no substantial form, and the key function can be realized by only approaching the vehicle through mobile phones or smart wearable devices. At present, the digital key mainly includes three technical routes: Bluetooth low energy BLE, near-field communication NFC, and ultra-wideband UWB. Among them, the UWB digital key has become a hot spot for car companies, and has gradually become the standard of vehicles.
It is reported that the BMW BMW iX M60 and BMW iX xDrive40 models launched in January this year are equipped with UWB digital keys; the NIO ET7, which began to be delivered at the end of March, also uses digital keys. As more and more models use UWB digital keys, the industry refers to 2022 as the "first year of mass production of UWB digital keys".
Car companies increase the layout of UWB technology
According to public information, UWB is the abbreviation of Ultra Wide-Band, and UWB technology Chinese named ultra-wideband wireless communication technology. UWB digital key is mainly the use of UWB's centimeter-level precision ranging capability, through the vehicle to arrange multiple anchor points, combined with the legal handheld key or mobile phone, to achieve vehicle close-up accurate space perception.
Since the accuracy of UWB technology when measuring distance can reach the highest centimeter level, that is, about 10 centimeters, the accuracy of UWB digital keys is much higher than that of NFC and Bluetooth keys. In addition, UWB technology uses time-of-flight (i.e., radio wave transmission time) ranging, which can not only achieve precise positioning, but also help to achieve a variety of car functions.
Specifically, in the case of using the UWB digital key, when the owner approaches the vehicle, the keyless entry system will automatically turn on the welcome light according to the distance of the vehicle, and then automatically adjust the seat position as the owner approaches the distance from the vehicle, and then automatically unlock when the owner is close to the door; when the owner is far away from the vehicle, the system can also automatically lock the car according to the position change.
In addition, unlike NFC and Bluetooth keys, UWB digital keys are more powerful in technology, which is mainly based on UWB technology and is compatible with NFC and Bluetooth communication at the same time, achieving functional redundancy. Like some mobile phones, even in the case of mobile phone lack of alarm shutdown, they can still support opening the car door or even starting the vehicle within a certain period of time.
It is understood that many car companies at home and abroad have begun to lay out or use UWB technology. For example, in order to ensure the safety of passive access systems, Land Rover has been using UWB technology since 2018, and the FULL range of NIO ET7 models delivered in 2022 supports UWB key positioning (using UWB+ Bluetooth + NFC fusion technology).
Image source: Daily Economic News Zhu Xingyun photo (data map)
According to Techno Systems Research, more cars are expected to adopt the UWB digital key system launched by the Car Connectivity Consortium in 2022. UWB solutions are expected to continue into 2024, but due to semiconductor shortages, adoption of UWB entry systems is expected to accelerate between 2025 and 2027, reaching more than 33% of the total number of vehicles by 2030.
The "2022 Automotive UWB Ultra-broadband Industry Research Report" released by Zos Automobile Research Institute shows that looking forward to the next 3 to 5 years, it is expected that the passenger car UWB digital key will achieve more than one million front-loading capacity, with the increase of the order of magnitude, the cost of bicycles will also be greatly reduced, and gradually promote UWB ultra-broadband technology to become the standard cornerstone technology of intelligent networked vehicles, Unicom automobile and Internet of Everything application scenarios.
Or open up the smart travel ecology
The commercialization of UWB technology, especially in the automotive industry, mobile phone manufacturers are a crucial part. At present, mobile phone manufacturers represented by Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, etc. have launched mobile phone products equipped with UWB technology, while other major manufacturers such as Huawei, OPPO, and vivo are also following suit.
"UWB getting on the bus and UWB into the mobile phone is already a definite trend, UWB will be the bridge between the mobile phone and the car. Data can be transmitted, authorizations can be transmitted, and most importantly, the distance between the two can be accurately measured while communicating. Zhu Xiaozhang, chairman of Sichuan Zhongdian Kunchen Technology Co., Ltd., said at the 2021 Smart Parking and AVP Technology Exchange Forum.
In addition, some car companies have joined the ranks of manufacturing mobile phones to accelerate the landing and application of UWB technology. On March 31, Li Bin, founder, chairman and CEO of WEILAI Automobile, said that mobile phones are now the most important devices for Weilai users to connect to cars, and because Apple Mobile phones refuse to open the UWB interface for models of Weilai's second-generation platform, Weilai makes the choice of making mobile phones from the perspective of user interests and experience.
Some analysts believe that in a complete UWB digital key solution, intelligent terminals equipped with UWB technology are indispensable, and at present, smart phones are the ideal solution. But overall, the current market can really support the UWB technology of the mobile phone is still a minority, so many parts suppliers are also developing corresponding solutions, to get rid of the UWB digital key on the mobile phone dependence.
At present, the digital key of the CoSmA smartphone developed by Continental group equipped with ultra-broadband technology has received orders from three major automakers around the world. In June 2021, HELLA launched a smart vehicle entry system based on UWB technology, which HELLA said will be mass-produced within two years. Tsingyan Zhixing has also successfully developed the UWB digital key solution.
At the same time, due to the basic same technical principles, domestic and foreign automotive electronic parts suppliers are also developing UWB digital key components while also expanding their technologies around automotive applications. For example, Based on UWB technology, Tsingken Chi Heng has introduced tailgate kicks, in-cabin live detection, and a fully automatic valet parking (AVP) function based on UWB high-precision vehicle positioning and navigation.
"In the long run, car companies hope to open up the entire smart travel ecosystem through UWB digital key technology." Zeng Wenxiang, a researcher at the Northern Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, said in an interview with the media that this allows consumers to achieve more personalized and intelligent on-board applications, including personalized vehicle function settings, AVP functions in automatic driving scenarios and remote control of cars, vehicle sharing, on-board payment, etc.
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