Ford Motor Company has filed a patent for a keyless entry keypad with a biometric system that may be used in future Ford vehicles, Ford Authority has learned.
The patent was filed on April 29th, 2022, published on October 15th, 2024, and assigned serial number 12115936.
The Ford Authority Take
In recent times, the factory-installed Ford keyless entry keypad has been disappearing from many of the automaker’s new vehicles – though it’s being replaced by a dealer-installed option. Regardless, this likely isn’t the end of the Ford keyless entry keypad as we know it, as the company has also published multiple patents outlining potential future versions of that feature – including ideas for a remote keyless entry method that uses NFC key cards, a window based keyless entry system, a facial recognition entry system, and biometric replacements for physical keys. Now, this newly filed patent builds upon those ideas with something totally new.
This new idea for a Ford keyless entry keypad with a biometric system is designed to provide the same sort of benefit a regular keypad might – as in, giving owners access without the need for a key or phone – albeit with a bit more security built in. Ford notes that even biometric data can pose a security risk, but in this case, it aims to get around that by using an authentication token private key challenge when a valid biometric signature is recognized.
In layman’s terms, a user could punch their code in the Ford keyless entry keypad, and then place their finger on a reader to verify their fingerprint. Alternatively, the system could utilize facial recognition data and voice recognition as additional methods for identifying a user, which could very well help increase the security of the device. Given the rise in the use of biometric data in recent years – even at airport security checkpoints – it seems reasonable that such an idea could one day come to fruition as well.
Comments
It is creepy. It is creepy at the airport. It is creepy when you want to get into Disney. It would be even creepier to have to do it to get into your very own car. It is also overkill. Why would Ford bother to add EVEN MORE cost and complexity to simply opening your car door? Do we really want vehicles–which have been exposed for very poor data security–holding copies of our biometric data that will eventually be stolen by cyber criminals and used against us?
Agreed. What’s wrong with the keypad???
Leave the numeric keypad as it is on every Ford vehicle. Don’t change or remove it at all! Even if the new owner does not use it, a resell is better with that keypad. I know of no other manufacturer who offers it. And there are aftermarket kits for non-Fords.