Smart Card Keyless Entry Systems

In an age when convenience is king, automakers are working harder than ever to capitalize on potential buyers' lust for new technologies that offer valuable time-savings and increased functionality. As a result, luxury car brands like Mercedes and Acura are ushering out the traditional keyless entry system in exchange for the next generation in remote automotive security and access. Strangely, though, the evolution of keyless entry is not to a new and cutting-edge technology, but rather a system that was developed more than 30 years ago—the smart card.

Development
For those who may be unfamiliar with the credit card-sized device, do not let its intimidating label scare you. While these cards are smart in comparison to their predecessors, their abilities are still relatively limited in comparison to your home computer.


A system originally conceived in 1970 by scientists in Japan, it was brought to life and deemed the smart card four years later by the French. For years the primary use of the smart card was for the banking industry in Europe and around the world. The smart card was intended to be the replacement for magnetic strip bank and credit cards, which were found to have security flaws and limited abilities. And while the magnetic strip card still dominates the banking industry, the smart card is growing in record numbers, both in and out of the finance world with an estimated 2.7 billion units being shipped by the end of 2003.

How It Works
The key to the smart card is in the microprocessor, a dime-sized computer with the ability to store information, perform local processing of data and carry out complex calculations, making it much more powerful than the standard keyless entry transmitter. Also known as memory, microprocessor, or integrated circuit cards, smart cards use active systems, instead of the contemporary passive nature of keyless entry. That is, Keyless Go, as Mercedes calls it, uses low-frequency radio communication to interact with a transceiver inside the car once the card is within two or three feet of the door.


Upon approach, the active card relays information about the cardholder, the car then validates the user's access code stored within the card and disables the security system. The car will then unlock the doors allowing the owner access to the vehicle once a hand touches the door handle. It's just that easy. Just walk up and open the door. And best of all, no more searching your pockets or digging through your purse after that 9-hour marathon at the shopping mall leaving you covered with bags like ornaments on a Christmas tree. If you've got the card anywhere on your person, you're in. For storing that extra baggage, the 2005 Acura RL, the first Acura (and the first non-Mercedes) to offer a smart card system also allows access to the trunk simply by touching the trunk lid.