Microchip introduces ultra-low power automotive access control solutions for smart keys and wearables

     Microchip Technology, the world's leading provider of integrated single-chip, mixed-signal, emulator and flash patented solutions, has announced the industry's lowest-power passive access/Passive Start (PEPS) solution. The new devices, the ATA5700 and ATA5702, have an effective operating range of about 10 meters and are extremely low power consumption, providing three times longer battery life than their competitors when operating in the highest sensitivity mode.

     The new devices include an interoperable open-source, zero-cost licensed alarm protocol based on the AES-128 standard, giving a large number of customers another new option. The adoption of open source protocols has proven to be very beneficial to Oems because it encourages extensive and continuous peer review across the industry, promotes continuous product improvement, and is proven to be more effective and secure than private secret protocols.

     In addition, the new device has a unique built-in low frequency (LF) vector computing unit, allowing customers to create effective countermeasures against relay attacks (man-in-the-middle) at no additional cost. The relay attack of PEPS system is one of the most concerned security problems of automobile manufacturers.

     The ATA5700 and ATA5702 are primarily used in various battery-powered applications such as smart keys (i.e. passive access control passive start), or as a supplement to automotive access control devices through power-sensitive applications such as mobile devices, smartphones and wearables. The new device provides the highest positioning accuracy of its kind in the market, which is essential to help automakers accurately identify whether the key card is located inside or outside the vehicle, while also meeting the 5 cm accuracy requirement imposed by insurance companies.