這些日子以來，幾乎我們所做的每件事情最后都可以用一個應用程序來搞定，那么汽車鑰匙呢？是否它有一天也將成為智能手機屏幕上的一個小方塊圖標？ 最近筆者采訪了博通(Broadcom)無線連結部門產品銷售主管Tom Ramsthaler，于是冒出了以上這個想法；在針對該公司即將推出的 802.11ac /藍牙低功耗(LE)組合芯片的討論中，Ramsthaler提出所預期的藍牙低功耗技術在汽車內的應用。 他舉出的一個例子是在不久前法蘭克福車展(Frankfurt Auto Show)上發(fā)表的 Nissan Watch ；這款智能手表采用藍牙低功耗連結技術，能收集汽車的遙測數(shù)據(jù)，為駕駛人展示汽車的油耗、性能等信息。Nissan Watch也能監(jiān)測駕駛人的健康狀況參數(shù)，例如在塞車時的心跳速率。

可連結汽車與駕駛人的Nissan Watch
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嗯…好象有點意思；但我想，恐怕很難用一款大眾產品促使所有的汽車制造商采用藍牙低功耗技術。不過Ramsthaler不假思索地表示，藍牙低功耗技術可應用在智能汽車鑰匙上──這下子引起我的興趣了。 據(jù)我所知，在智能汽車鑰匙市場執(zhí)牛耳的恩智浦半導體(NXP)也有類似的想法，該公司曾推出采用NFC通訊技術的多功能汽車鑰匙單芯片解決方案；該KEyLink Lite產品的構想是讓車鑰匙能與外部的NFC裝置連結，例如手機、平板或筆記本電腦，而這樣的智能鑰匙的功能包括找汽車、路線規(guī)劃，以及汽車狀態(tài)/服務信息的管理。 所以現(xiàn)在博通是打算以藍牙低功耗芯片進軍汽車領域，然后我們將看到智能汽車鑰匙市場上點燃NFC與藍牙低功耗技術的戰(zhàn)火？或者，是否將有一天我們能不再需要真正的汽車鑰匙。只要簡單地揮揮手機就能打開車門？ 還有得等。我在歐洲微電子高峰會(European Microelectronics Summit)上與幾位產業(yè)高層交換意見之后很快地理解到，用智能手機當汽車鑰匙實際上并不是一個好主意。 市場研究機構Strategy Analytics的汽車市場分析師Ian Riches同意，用智能手機為車門解鎖是可行的，但：“問題是很多人會在車子里為智能手機充電，如果你在車外的時候手機就沒電了怎么辦？你連車門都進不去！” 本文授權編譯自EE Times，版權所有，謝絕轉載 第2頁：汽車鑰匙的壽命必須比汽車更長 第3頁：NFC與藍牙低功耗誰更適合車鑰匙？

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• “車聯(lián)網(wǎng)”應用興起，驅動汽車電子市場新發(fā)展
• 駭客們有可能這樣控制你的汽車……0Hnesmc

{pagination} 我跟恩智浦半導體汽車業(yè)務部門全球銷售副總裁Drue Freeman談到這個問題，也在歐洲微電子高峰會上擔任講師的他表示：“你要了解，汽車鑰匙的壽命必須比汽車更長?！? 確實，這是要將智能手機當車子鑰匙用，會遇到的第一個障礙；消費者汰換手機的周期平均約一年半，但汽車的平均壽命則是超過八年。雖然也認同利用支持NFC技術的智能手機來開車門是可行的，F(xiàn)reeman還提出了一個更顯著的便利性問題。 目前的汽車免鑰匙進入系統(tǒng)，可在不需要將鑰匙插入激活裝置的情況下解除防盜器并發(fā)動汽車，這類系統(tǒng)采用低頻(LF，125KHz)與射頻(RF，300MHz以上)，運作原理是在汽車內外裝設一系列的LF傳送天線，外部的天線是在車門把上，當車輛被觸發(fā)時，LF訊號會由天線傳送到鑰匙上，如果鑰匙足夠接近汽車，會將其ID透過RF送回至汽車內的接收器。 讓智能手機上的NFC功能支持汽車保安系統(tǒng)當然是可行的，但駕駛人仍須要走到汽車旁邊手動開啟車門──除非智能手機也整合了LF/RF免鑰匙進入系統(tǒng)。 Freeman解釋：“利用智能手機需要兩個步驟，但現(xiàn)在的智能汽車鑰匙則是能立即遙控開啟車門，不需要先把智能手機拿起來操作。”盡管如此，用手機來為汽車上鎖/解鎖，然后發(fā)動引擎的這個想法，還是擄獲了一些車廠的心，例如Hyundai。 利用嵌入于車輛的NFC卷標，Hyundai設計了一套系統(tǒng)，讓汽車駕駛人能透過在手機觸控屏幕滑動操作來解鎖車門、激活引擎；這家韓國車廠在稍早前在i30車款上，展示了其“連結性概念(Connectivity Concept)”。

韓國車廠Hyundai展示搭載NFC技術的概念車
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本文授權編譯自EE Times，版權所有，謝絕轉載 第3頁：NFC與藍牙低功耗誰更適合車鑰匙？

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• 英恒免鑰入車系統(tǒng)新品，無需按鍵便可自動開啟車門
• “車聯(lián)網(wǎng)”應用興起，驅動汽車電子市場新發(fā)展
• 駭客們有可能這樣控制你的汽車……0Hnesmc

{pagination} 所以其實把智能手機當車鑰匙用的概念幾年前就出現(xiàn)了，也獲得了部分汽車廠商的注意；那么藍牙低功耗技術也可以支持汽車鑰匙嗎？ 有人會說：有何不可？但要讓這個概念可行的第一個步驟，是確保藍牙智能車鑰匙與車內的電子裝置不會有任何EMC干擾；也許更重要的是，藍牙低功耗需要電源(雖然很低)。相反的，NFC無需激活電源，不會影響鑰匙的電池壽命。 恩智浦半導體表示：“NFC透過接觸就能建立一個連結，不需要透過事先的裝置配對?！币簿褪钦f，NFC能讓車廠專注于便利性與安全性。不過，就算NFC或藍牙等任一種無線技術能勝任智能車鑰的功能，技術供貨商還是得清除更多障礙。 Freeman解釋，對一家車廠來說，擁有其汽車品牌標志的車鑰匙，是與車主之間所建立的第一個、也是最重要的物理性且有形的接觸，汽車廠商可能不會急于把如此珍貴的品牌商機送給智能手機──后者不負擔任何汽車品牌責任。 所以你懂了；目前NFC與藍牙低功耗的戰(zhàn)爭看來是較著重于將智能手機(或任何一種可穿戴式裝置)與智能車鑰連結，并非是直接讓智能手機取代車鑰。 根據(jù)恩智浦半導體的說法，該公司采用NFC技術的多功能汽車鑰匙解決方案，是其完整的車用智能接取(Smart Access)解決方案的系列新產品成員之一，該系列產品將與2013年的車款共同上市。。 本文授權編譯自EE Times，版權所有，謝絕轉載 編譯：Judith Cheng 參考英文原文：Unlocking the Keyless Car Future，by Junko Yoshida

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• “車聯(lián)網(wǎng)”應用興起，驅動汽車電子市場新發(fā)展
• 駭客們有可能這樣控制你的汽車……0Hnesmc

{pagination} Unlocking the Keyless Car Future Junko Yoshida For just about everything we do these days, "there's an app for that." Is the car key destined to become one more little tile on a smartphone screen? The thought hit me recently while interviewing Broadcom executive Tom Ramsthaler, responsible for product marketing of wireless connectivity. In discussing the company's upcoming 802.11ac/Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) combo chip, Ramsthaler explained to me what he envisions as in-vehicle applications enabled by Bluetooth LE. He talked about Nissan Watch, unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show last month. The smartwatch, using a Bluetooth LE connection, gathers telemetry data from a car so that it can show the driver the car's efficiency information, such as fuel consumption, while also tracking performance. The Nissan Watch also monitors certain parameters of driver health, like heart rate in a traffic jam. Nissan Watch links a car and a driver. OK, mildly interesting. But hardly the mass market product that will prompt every carmaker to embrace Bluetooth LE, I thought. However, Ramsthaler mentioned offhand that Bluetooth LE would be useful as a smart car key. Now I'm interested. As I recall, NXP, armed with the lion's share in the smart car key market, had been thinking along these lines. NXP came up with a single-chip solution for multi-function car keys using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. The idea is for keys to connect to external NFC-compliant devices, such as mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. Announcing the product, called KEyLink Lite, NXP talked about potential "smart" key applications including car finder, route planner, and car status/service data management. So, now that Broadcom is coming to the automotive market with Bluetooth LE chips, will we be seeing an NFC vs. Bluetooth LE battle brewing in the smart car key market? Or better yet, will there be a day when we can do away with our car keys and flip open a car door simply by waving the phone? Not so fast. Talking to several executives at the European Microelectronics Summit, I quickly realized that using a smartphone to enter a car is actually not a smart idea. Ian Riches, director of global automotive practice at Strategy Analytics, agreed that unlocking a car with a smartphone is possible. But he cautioned: "The problem is that a lot of people go inside a car to charge their smartphones. What if your smartphone already ran out of battery? You can't even open your car door!" I broached the subject with Drue Freeman, vice president, global sales and marketing, automotive business unit, NXP Semiconductors, who was also a presenter at the European Microelectronics Summit. Freeman told me, "You need to understand that car keys must last longer than cars." Indeed, that's the first hurdle for any attempt to use a smartphone as a car key. Consumers swap smartphones roughly every 1.5 years. The average car lasts more than eight years. While acknowledging that opening a car with an NFC-enabled smartphone could be done, Freeman posed a more salient matter of convenience. In the current generation of keyless entry for cars, a smart key system disengages the immobilizer and activates the ignition without inserting a key in the ignition. The system uses LF (low frequency, 125 kHz) and RF (radio frequency, >300 MHz). It works by having a series of LF transmitting antennas both inside and outside the vehicle. External antennas are in the door handles. When the vehicle is triggered, an LF signal is transmitted from the antennas to the key. The key activates if it is sufficiently close, and it transmits its ID back to the vehicle via RF to a receiver located in the vehicle. Applying NFC in a smartphone to the car security system is certainly feasible. But the driver still needs to walk up to a car and physically open the door -- unless the smartphone is also integrated with an LF/RF-based keyless entry system. Freeman explained, "With a smartphone, it's a two-step process. In contrast, the smart car key you use today can remotely flip a car open -- instantly," without fiddling with your smartphone first. But let's be clear: The idea of unlocking and locking the car and then starting the ignition with a phone has haunted the minds of some carmakers, such as Hyundai. By using NFC, Hyundai demonstrated "Connectivity Concept." By using an embedded NFC tag in the car, Hyundai has designed a system that allows owners to unlock a vehicle, start the engine, and link up to the touchscreen with a quick swipe. The Korean automaker showed earlier this year what the company calls its "Connectivity Concept" in a demonstration i30 hatchback car. So, the idea of smartphone as your car key has been percolating for a few years, and it has gotten some attention from carmakers. Can a Bluetooth LE be that key? One might say: Why not? The first step in proving the feasibility of this concept is to make sure there is absolutely no EMC interference between a Bluetooth-based smart car key and the electronics inside the vehicle. Perhaps more important, Bluetooth LE requires power (albeit low energy). NFC connectivity "does not require a power supply in the key, hence does not affect the key's battery lifetime," according to NXP's spokesperson. "Setting up a connectivity link is done by a touch and would not require an exchange pairing credential upfront." In sum, NFC allows carmakers to focus on convenience and security. Even assuming that either wireless technology -- NFC or Bluetooth -- works fine as a smart car key, technology suppliers need to clear one more hurdle. NXP's Freeman explained that for a carmaker, the branded car key establishes the first and the most significant physical and tactile contact with car owners. Automotive companies might not be so eager to give up that precious branding opportunity to a smartphone -- which bears no automotive brand. Point taken. For the time being, the NFC vs. Bluetooth LE battleground is likely to be focused more on connecting a smart car key with a smartphone (or any wearable smart device), rather than a smartphone replacing a car key. According to NXP, the company's multi-function car key using NFC is "one member of a complete new product family designed for Smart Access solutions." The product family debuts in the market with model year '13 vehicles.