Beginning next year 2017, Swedish car manufacturer, Volvo will hold a record to offer world first car without keys, interesting, right? Well, you can go ahead and misplace your keys as you are still covered by the Swedish auto maker until next year.

In simple terms; Volvo will provide a phone app that will replace the physical keys and let car owners lock and unlock doors as well as starting the engine all from the convenience of smartphones. Volvo announces that the digital key can be accessed from different locations as long as the holder remains within the Bluetooth range.

"We are not interested in technology for the sake of technology," said Henrick Green, Vice-President of Product Strategy and Vehicle Line Management at Volvo, in a statement. "New technology has to make our customers' lives easier and save them time. Mobility needs are evolving and so are our customers’ expectations to access cars in an uncomplicated way."

The Swedish auto maker also said that the Bluetooth-enabled digital key will not completely replace the physical one; car owners who still want physical keys will receive them when the technology finally comes handy. The company will start testing this innovative technology during the spring of 2016 via the company's car sharing firm Sunfleet in Sweden.

The world is fast moving in to a shared economy hub and a future where fewer people own cars. By offering a digital, Bluetooth-enabled key, Volvo hopes to present an easier solution for anyone booking a rental car or owners to allow friends or family to use the car when it otherwise may just be parked. Volvo has plans to make car sharing among friends and family even more realistic as the owners of the digital key can also be able to create a digital replica of the key and send to those loved ones so everyone can ride.

"There are obviously many permutations when it comes to how this shared key technology can be used," added Martin Rosenqvist, New Car Director, Special Products at Volvo Cars. "We look forward to seeing how else this technology might be used in the future and we welcome any and all ideas."

According to a report, this digital service also features value-added services such as booking or paying for rental cars. The service will allow customers to locate cars using GPS technology, unlock and drive away. Customers can also share the digital key with others in a situation where others are driving their cars.

Volvo wanted to make customers' life easier by using the existing technology already in place considering the fact how mobility needs are on the increase in this shared economy world of today.

"Our innovative digital key technology has the potential to completely change how a Volvo can be accessed and shared. Instead of sitting idle in a parking lot the entire day, cars could be used more often and efficiently by whoever the owner wishes." Mr Green said.

Volvo showcased this technology for the first time at the Mobile World Congress 2016 that's currently taking place in Barcelona, Spain. Cars have seen remote keyless entry since the early 1980s, cars like Porsche and Tesla came out with fob technology but car thieves still found a way to circumvent the whole system, leaving owners with latest technology and zero peace of mind.

In 2015, Volvo made another breakthrough by launching world's first commercial service that allows online shoppers to have their shopped items delivered right to their cars. This continues to be embraced by many people and now the Swedish car maker is ready to go to the next level in the keyless technology.

Volvo's digital key means that sharing a car will become both simple and convenient. Volvo owners will be able to send their digital key to other people via their mobile phones so that they can also use the car, this may be family members, friends or co-workers in a company.

Volvo hasn't yet discussed about how it plans to make this innovation safe and secured for everyone, it seems like the Swedish auto maker is more concerned about making car sharing both simple and convenient for everyone using the latest technology at hand in this shared economy world of ours.

Source: biztekmojo.com