Report author and SBD specialist on Smart Key technology and development, David Green, talks about the latest Smart Key system evaluation.
Q: Compared with systems from a few years ago, how have Smart Key systems developed in Europe, and where does this particular system rate?
David Green: The balance is changing, two or three years ago the market was striving for better system performance, there were still issues to be resolved with functionality and manufacturers still saw the technology as a luxury item. Now, we are seeing manufacturers building consistently good systems, security issues are fewer and the focus has moved on to reducing the cost of these systems whilst maintaining a consistently good level of performance.
Q: With more and more manufacturers now offering Smart Key systems, what makes this system different to the others?
DG: This is a premium brand vehicle. Many of the systems we are seeing currently are targeting smaller segment vehicles, which places cost restrictions on what can be developed. Although the Audi is a premium brand nevertheless, it is systems like these that should push the overall development of Smart Keys.
Most importantly, this is a unique solution to antenna arrangement and coverage. The keyfob's direction relative to the vehicle can be determined, as can the distance from the vehicle, resulting in very well-defined ranges, minimum leakage and maximum coverage.
Q: Whilst luxury car sales continue to be hit hard by the recession, how important could a good Smart Key system be to a vehicle/manufacturer like the Audi A4?
DG: It is very important. The Audi is a premium vehicle and the consumer expects luxury features to compliment that and to make the brand stand out from its competition. It creates a de facto standard for vehicles in that class and also sets the aspirational standards for other OEMs.
Smart Keys have been on premium models for a number of years now and a lot of customers will have had contact with the systems. Also, we know from our surveys that once a customer has owned a vehicle with Smart Key, they place very high value on having another Smart Key on their next vehicle. Could that be a defining factor in the decision to buy a vehicle or to look at a competitor? A poorly designed system could certainly make that choice.
Q: What are the key challenges faced by manufacturers when designing a Smart Key system for the market today, and how have Audi/Marquardt approached them?
DG: As mentioned, the focus has moved and the critical issue is more cost based than before. If manufacturers want to create competitive advantage by bringing Smart Key to more customers, they need to do so at a lower price and make it more widely available. At the same time, development of new features needs to continue otherwise Smart Key would no longer be that "high-technology" option.
What Audi and Marquardt have achieved is to keep the good functionality they achieved on previous systems through development of the hardware. The result is a more defined and higher-technology solution but with less cost and less space requirement per system.
Q: Two years ago Audi had the only Marquardt supplied system available in Europe, how significant is it that they have continued to develop their systems together?
DG: Marquardt are active in the market and we have seen a number of manufacturers switch to them for some of the reasons given above. A good example of this is the new Mercedes C Class which we also tested recently. From evidence of these new tie-ups we can see that Marquardt have a good basic system to offer and a sound approach to the market.
However, development is the key word. Audi and Marquardt haven't started from scratch and have been able to build a potentially market-leading system by developing what they already had. Going forward, the new technology, such as location function, could easily provide the key for future systems with the next generation of features, such as walk-up unlocking, more secure unlock/locking procedures and even bi-directional keyfob links.
