Apple introduced Car Keys at the WWDC 2020 event. Apple Engineer Matthias Lerch provided the session for this new feature aimed at car maker developers. Below is just a snippet of the video. You could watch the full 21-minute video here.  

Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published Apple's Car Keys patent application 20210229630 titled "Mobile Key Enrollment and Use." The inventors include Vitalii Kramar (Human Interface Design) and Marcel Van Os (Senior Interface Designer).  

Apple's patent application covers techniques for enrolling and using a mobile key using electronic devices, however, are generally cumbersome and inefficient. For example, some existing techniques use a complex and time-consuming user interface, which may include multiple key presses or keystrokes. Existing techniques require more time than necessary, wasting user time and device energy. This latter consideration is particularly important in battery-operated devices.

Accordingly, the present technique provides electronic devices with faster, more efficient methods and interfaces for enrolling and using a mobile key. Such methods and interfaces optionally complement or replace other methods for enrolling and using a mobile key. Such methods and interfaces reduce the cognitive burden on a user and produce a more efficient human-machine interface. For battery-operated computing devices, such methods and interfaces conserve power and increase the time between battery charges.

A few of the patent figures below illustrate exemplary user interfaces for enrolling a secure credential.

For those interested in exploring dozens of other patent figures and greater details about Car Keys, review Apple's patent application here. Apple originally filed for this patent back in late October 2020.

Apple offers additional support for Car Key(s) here and here. Apple was granted their first patent for Car Keys earlier this month titled "Wireless Charging Interference Mitigation." These are patents fulfilled.