Today, keyless entry is the mainstream method of unlocking a car, and the car is unlocked when the driver approaches the car carrying the “key. In the future, there is a movement to replace this “key” with a smartphone.

The technology to replace physical keys by using smartphones as digital keys is called “Phone as a Key (PaaK),” and its realization requires the introduction of new technologies in the fields of wireless communication and security.
Infineon is offered as a communication device and microcontroller for this purpose.

Until now, accessing and unlocking car keys has developed as a proprietary technology for each car manufacturer with an emphasis on security.
However, the need for standardization of technical specifications to connect smartphones and cars regardless of brand led to the establishment of the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC), an industry organization.

Any car model from any automaker can be configured with a PaaK system as long as the technology is CCC compliant.
Any smartphone equipped with CCC-compliant technology can use PaaK, whether it is iOS or Android, no matter which manufacturer’s model.

PaaK uses two wireless technologies, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Ultra Wide Band (UWB). UWB is more accurate for distance measurement and location detection, while BLE consumes less power.
When the owner of the smartphone enters within about 10 meters of the car, detection is first performed using BLE, and when the owner of the smartphone comes within 5 meters of the car, the system switches to UWB communication.
Different communication technologies are used depending on the distance.