In the U.S., one person dies every 52 minutes while driving — a good reason for Apple to explore a car-key alcohol detection feature that refuses to unlock your car if you exceed the legal alcohol limit.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today published an Apple patent application for this feature…
car key
We first got our first exclusive look at Apple’s Car Key feature back in early 2020, before it was officially announced later that year.
CarKey uses NFC technology to communicate with the car, enabling the device to act as a real car key. During the initial process, the user must place the iPhone on the NFC card reader in the car, and the CarKey will be available in the Wallet app. [Once configured]CarKey works automatically and the user does not need to unlock the phone or open any app.
It requires an iPhone XR or later, or an Apple Watch Series 5 or later. Support for the feature was initially limited to certain BMW models, but other automakers are slowly adopting it. You can read more about it here.
Drive after drunk
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) outlined the magnitude of the problem.
In the United States, about 28 people die every day in DUI crashes—one death every 52 minutes. In 2019, those deaths were the lowest percentage since NHTSA began reporting alcohol data in 1982 — but 10,142 people still lost their lives.These deaths are preventable […]
In the United States, approximately one-third of traffic fatalities involve intoxicated drivers (BAC of 0.08 g/dL or higher).
NHTSA recommends a five-point plan for U.S. drivers:
- Plan your safe return home before starting the party, choosing a non-drinking friend as the designated driver.
- If someone you know has been drinking, don’t let that person drive. Take their keys and help them arrange a sober journey home.
- If you drink, don’t drive for any reason. Call a taxi, a ride-hailing service, or a sober friend.
- If you’re hosting a party with alcohol, make sure all guests leave with a sober driver.
- Always wear your seat belt – this is the best defense against a damaged driver.
Car key breathalyzer patent application
Apple’s patent application describes how Car Key can be enhanced to require communication with a breath analyzer. If the reading is too high, the car key may refuse to unlock the doors, or allow entry but prevent the car from moving.
In some embodiments, if the user attempts to remove the temporary restriction on the security credential before the predetermined period of time has elapsed, one or more unlocking criteria must be met before the temporary restriction can be removed. For example, the one or more unlocking criteria may include one or more biometric criteria (eg, a blood alcohol level below a threshold).In response to detecting the input, the electronic device displays a notification instructing the user to breathe into a breathalyzer (eg, a breathalyzer in wireless or wired communication with the device) […]
The electronic device receives biometric information indicating that the user’s blood alcohol concentration is 0.00, which is below the threshold. Based on the determination that the user’s blood alcohol level meets one or more biometric criteria, the electronic device displays the indication and removes the restriction on the security credential.
In contrast, the electronic device received biometric information indicating that the user’s blood alcohol level was 0.08, which was not below the threshold. Based on the determination that the user’s blood alcohol level does not meet one or more biometric criteria, the electronic device displays an indication and maintains restrictions on the security credentials.
Low-cost wireless breathalyzers have been around for years—I reviewed a keychain-sized breathalyzer in 2014.
In the United States, people convicted of DUI may be required to have a breathalyzer in their car after serving a driving ban or sentence, unless the readings are well below the legal limit. With car keys becoming a standard feature, the technology could make it easier to impose such conditions on all convicted people.
We’ve of course added our usual patent disclaimer: Apple patented a ton of ideas, most of which never made it into a product – but I’d very much like this to happen.
Apple via patent
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