Are you one of those people who can never find their car in the parking garage at the mall? And, once you find your car, where are your keys? Well, if the new patents that were published by the U.S. Trade and Patent Office on Thursday are any indication, Apple is looking for ways to help you.
CNET:
…an Apple patent application called “Method for locating a vehicle” describes a technology in which your mobile device can talk to your car through a Bluetooth connection to confirm that it’s parked somewhere nearby. The parking garage itself would also have its own wireless system to pinpoint the exact location of your car.
A map would then display on your phone to lead you to your car, similar to the way current GPS systems lead you to a specific address.
How about those missing car keys? How are you going to get into your car and start it? Another patent application published Tuesday called “Accessing a vehicle using portable devices” tells of a way to unlock the door using your mobile device. Your iPhone would act as a key fob replacement, using security and authentication methods to unlock your car.
Once you gain entry, you can then use the phone to start your car, turn on the radio, adjust the seats, and more. Your car can even adjust the seats and mirros according to the credentials stored on your iPhone.
According to the application:
In some embodiments, the vehicle-related operation can include a personalization operation, in which the vehicle automatically adjusts an environmental setting (e.g., seat position, mirror position, temperature controls, settings for an audio or audiovisual entertainment system) based on the received vehicle access credential and/or on the particular portable device from which the vehicle access credential is received.
Nice, the car will personalize everything according to who is sitting in the drivers seat. A definite time saver for couples who share the same car.
OK, so we’ve found the car, gained entry and got it started. When is someone going to teach an iOS device how to drive? Don’t worry, Oxford is working on that.
