Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. and Broadcom Inc. announced the introduction of an automotive Phone as a Key (PaaK) system based on Bluetooth Low Energy. The system uses Alps Alpine’s precision Bluetooth position measurement technology and a smartphone with Broadcom’s first-of-its-kind Bluetooth and Wi-Fi combo chip that supports high-accuracy distance measurement. The two companies will use this jointly-developed system to work towards an expected automotive commercial launch within two years.
For over 20 years, Bluetooth has been an ever-evolving and expanding wireless technology. Its market size is projected to grow by 50% over the next 5 years. One major growth area in the Bluetooth market is high-accuracy distance measurement services. The jointly-developed Alps Alpine and Broadcom Bluetooth positioning system enables keyless entry for automobiles and is broadly applicable to other Phones as a Key and positioning application. Going forward, the two companies are collaborating extensively with automobile manufacturers and other partners to accelerate the market introduction of this technology.
“Smartphone-based positioning systems are a growing market trend. We expect the demand for high-precision Bluetooth positioning using smartphones to increase dramatically.” said Hideo Izumi, Director of Alps Alpine, Managing Executive Officer, Technical Officer, Device Business Officer and General Manager of the Technology Division, “Working with Broadcom, the industry leader in the smartphone Bluetooth space, we will develop products for a wide range of applications including not only in vehicle entry systems but also for industrial equipment and IoT markets.”
“Alps Alpine and Broadcom are world leaders in high-accuracy positioning technology,” said Gabriel Desjardins, director of marketing in Broadcom’s Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division, “We have partnered with Alps Alpine to rapidly commercialize Broadcom’s Bluetooth-based high-accuracy distance measurement technology, and they have delivered a performance that is second to none.”
Phone as a Key is just the beginning of exciting new applications and technologies that will be enabled by the ongoing collaboration between the two companies. Alps Alpine’s positioning systems and Broadcom’s smartphone chips will bring high-accuracy distance measurement capabilities to market and help connect the world.
