Camera Phones Plaza

How would you like to use the same key designed for opening your BMW, for several other functions like contactless payments for petrol, public transport, parking and road tolls, and personalized access control? The good news is that you’ll be able to do all of these soon with the new Smart car key designed by BMW Group Research and Technology, integrating NXP’s SmartMX security chip.
At the moment it is at the prototype level and will be demonstrated in November at the CARTES & IDentification show in Paris.

It is the world’s first multifunctional car key for BMW modelss and uses the NXP’s SmartMX P5CD081 dual-interface chip built with smaller antenna than the other smart cards, for easy integration into different form factors.

“With the concept of integrating contactless payment functionality in a car key, we are working on the combination of automotive technology and lifestyle,” said Prof. Raymond Freymann, managing director of BMW Group Research and Technology. “In cooperation with NXP we are doing research in enhancing the capabilities of the car key into one smart device for access, payment, and services that will simplify the lives of BMW car drivers in future. It will help us to stay in touch with our drivers directly and deliver a complete range of mobility-enhancing services.”

The key will look similar with the one in the image and we can’t wait to find our more about its functionalities and design, during November.
NXP is a semiconductor company founded by no other than Philips, with headquarter in Europe and offices in 20 countries.

“Together with BMW, we are underlining our global leadership in remote key-less vehicle ‘entry and go’ and contactless identification, by delivering a compelling contactless application that will continue to drive innovations in smart card banking and the automotive industry,” said Marc de Jong, executive vice president, business unit automotive and identification, NXP Semiconductors. “The transformation of a car key into a credit card goes beyond the limitation of traditional payment possibilities and is a natural evolution to improve car owners’ payment experiences. Innovative smart card solutions from NXP provide the security, the flexibility and the performance to support the growing industry demand for different form factors in payment applications, such as car keys, key fobs, watches or Near Field Communication-enabled mobile phones, to enhance the lifestyles of consumers.”