DUOLABS
Work

Connected-car remote control service

We built a digital key that lets a smartphone stand in for the car key. The phone and the car talk directly over Bluetooth Low Energy, and because the iPhone does not keep that connection alive in the background, we designed a workaround that uses GPS location. Since a failed unlock leaves someone stranded, we reproduced dropped links and failures on real cars and sensors in the field and fixed them there. The iPhone and Android apps connect to a web dashboard that manages issued keys and sharing.

Launch
2023
Client
A Korean automaker
Type
Vehicle & Navigation
01 / 04

A key that opens as you approach and locks as you leave

The phone and the car connect directly over Bluetooth Low Energy. Without opening the app, the phone looks for the car's signal in the background, gauges distance from signal strength, and unlocks as you approach and locks as you walk away. The iPhone does not keep a Bluetooth connection alive while the app is in the background, so left alone the link drops. We worked around that limit within Apple's rules with a design that uses GPS location to keep the connection going. The trigger distance can be set to near, middle, or far, and behavior that changes with distance and surroundings was checked and fixed in the field on real cars and sensors. The Bluetooth communication code is packaged as a module separate from the app itself, so changes on the communication side do not shake the whole app. From the home-screen widget, start, lock, and hazard lights are one tap away without opening the app, and only the buttons that fit the car's trim are shown.

A key that opens as you approach and locks as you leave
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It becomes a key only after the phone and the car verify each other

On first registration, the phone connects to the car's key module over Bluetooth, confirms the vehicle's delivery status, then verifies the car's unique certificate, the owner certificate, and a one-time certificate in turn before it becomes a key. After registration, key credentials are refreshed every few minutes so a stale key cannot open the car. A separate flow transfers ownership after the car is sold. Every step leaves a record, so when a registration stalls in the field, the web dashboard shows at once which step failed and why.

It becomes a key only after the phone and the car verify each other
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Sharing a key, with permissions set per person

Send a key by name and phone number, and it exists only once the recipient accepts. Each car can share with up to two people, each with their own settings for the card key, Bluetooth, safe mode, and auto-lock, and access can be revoked at any time. Issued keys, sharing status, and failed registrations are all on one screen of the web dashboard.

Sharing a key, with permissions set per person
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A month of driving and the car's condition, on one report

Each month's driving and the car's condition come together on one report. Distance, driving time, fuel economy, and idle time are shown against the previous month, and tapping a date lays out that day's morning and afternoon trips one by one. Fault diagnosis is split into powertrain, chassis, and vehicle communication systems, each marked normal or needs inspection, and consumables due for replacement are flagged first. Replacements done at a garage can be logged with the date and mileage.

A month of driving and the car's condition, on one report

Highlights

01

A Bluetooth Low Energy digital key that unlocks as you approach and locks as you walk away

02

Registration through step-by-step certificate checks, and sharing with up to two people with per-person permissions

03

iPhone and Android apps, a web dashboard for digital keys, and a home-screen control widget

Insights

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