Delphi Uses RFID to Link Phones and Cars

"No matter where you are, you can interact with your phone application and download information to the car [the next time you get inside]," Tieman states. "You can make changes to the car's interior temperature settings, or configure a new playlist from inside a restaurant, for example." Once you get into your car, the fob will transfer this data to the vehicle's controls and automatically make the adjustments.

For electric vehicles, this technology could be especially helpful, as it would allow a driver to know his or her car's most recent battery level, even if that individual were not inside the vehicle.

Although Delphi's key fob will employ RFID to enable communication between a user's car and phone, many automobiles utilize some type of RFID-enabled key fob for other purposes. With one type of fob, the driver must press a button on the device to activate a battery-powered ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) tag embedded in that fob, which communicates with an RFID reader inside the car and triggers the vehicle's doors to unlock or lock—or, in some models, switches on the ignition system. A newer type of key fob, based on low-frequency (LF) RFID technology, does not require the driver to press any buttons—he or she can leave the fob in his or her pocket, and as soon as that person is within the reader's range, the device will trigger the door to unlock or the engine to start. Delphi's NFC tag could be built into either of the main two types of key fobs, Tieman explains, and would operate separately from the fob's car-access or ignition functionality.

"We're really just riding the trend in smart phones," Tieman says. As phones continue to adopt wireless standards, such as NFC and Bluetooth, Delphi wants to be able to leverage the new technology applications this provides to drivers. In fact, the company has also developed a version of the Gateway fob that utilizes Bluetooth technology to port vehicle data between a driver's phone and car.

Technology already exists enabling a driver to use a cell phone to access his or her vehicle's usage settings or location, through services such as OnStar. However, Tieman notes, these services are based on service subscriptions. The Gateway Fob technology, he says, would not require the driver to pay ongoing fees for the service.