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dicembre 20, 2021 - Renault

Hands-free card: 20 years of innovation in the palm of your hand

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Electric windows, power steering, air-conditioning, rear-view camera, GPS... that is just a small selection of all the inventions that have altered the face of modern cars and brought great change to the everyday lives of motorists. Some have helped improve safety. Others have redefined comfort standards. The hands-free card has made using cars easier. First designed by #renault 20 years ago, it quickly become a hit with consumers despite a few bumps along the journey. Pascaline, Head of Cross-Cutting Products at the #renault Group Products division, takes us through the history behind the magic card.

Initially seen as a gadget worthy of 007, the hands-free card was gradually adopted by manufacturers around the world, eventually becoming a standard feature in many cars. Much like the hatchback, that was popularised in the early 1960s, this small object – barely larger than a credit card – is one of Renault’s leading innovations that will leave its mark on the history of automotives.

This innovative solution was designed to make life easier for customers.

Pascaline, Head of Cross-Cutting Products at the #renault Group Products Division

A story of little things making great change!

It all starts in 2001. #renault was set to start selling Laguna II, a saloon that was said to embody the ‘lifestyle’ car of 21st century. However, its designers felt that the design was still lacking a few innovative features.

Sometime before its official launch, Bernard Dumondel, the Laguna II product lead, was staying in a hotel in Luxembourg. He goes to use his room key – a magnetic card – and has an epiphany: why not use a contact-less card instead of the traditional car key? The idea behind the hands-free card is born. He presents a prototype of his idea to his program manager and enthrals the Group’s Executive Committee (including Louis Schweitzer himself, the then CEO of Renault). The project is adopted, and a patent lodged.

Following the 1973 R16 TX – the first French car to have electronic central locking – and the 1982 Fuego with its ground-breaking remote-controlled door locks, Laguna II became the first car made by a general-purpose car manufacturer to feature a hands-free card. The initial design was known as a ‘keyless entry vehicle’. Over the following years, Renault improved the accessory by including it on Espace and Vel Satis models. It then helped popularise the design by extending it across its entire range, from Clio, to Scenic, and on to Megane.

When innovation brings technology and accessibility together

Behind the hands-free card’s minimalist plastic case hides a sophisticated electronic core. It is programmed to constantly ‘communicate’ with the car it is paired to.

When the vehicle is approached, the card is detected by receiver-transmitters located throughout the car. When the vehicle pings the card with a verification request, it emits a radio signal containing an access code. If the car recognises the code, it unlocks the doors All this takes only 80 milliseconds. Faster than the blink of an eye! When the person holding the hands-free card climbs out of the vehicle, the on-board computer continues to ping the card at regular intervals, to see if it is still in the vicinity. When the card no longer responds, the computer locks all the doors.

Technical uncertainty and hurdles

According to Pascaline, inventing the hands-free card “was a mighty challenge with a fair amount of risk.” Despite its record 5-star Euro NCAP crash test, Laguna II suffered from technical hiccups in the months following its release. This was also the case with the first version of the hands-free card. Its signal could be easily muddled by nearby objects, like the neon lights often found in parking lots. It must be said that the underlying technology was, at the time, still in its early stages. Despite an in-depth design brief based on more than 6,000 customer interviews looking at their lifestyles, habits, and expectations, #renault had run out of time to create prototypes, test all possible use-cases, and correct for any unknowns.

In a concerted effort to satisfy customers, the then #renault engineers and designers “reworked the design from top to bottom, to offer an even more powerful option later on down the track,” adds Pascaline.

Further information in the press release to download

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