► Unlock your car with YOUR FACE
► Yes, just like a smartphone
► 2023 GV60 first to deploy
Ever lost your car keys? Or gone wild swimming and wondered where on earth you can insert that fob to keep it safe and dry? The 2023 Genesis GV60 has the answer, as it will become the first car to market with keyless entry face recognition.
Sound like a good idea? Or are you immediately thinking of all those social media videos of people fooling similar tech on smartphones with a life-size photograph?
How does the Genesis car facial recognition technology work?
Point of order number one is that you won’t be able to start the car with nothing more than your face. Or a picture of the owner’s face.
Rather, the facial recognition tech commands the locking system, and functions in cooperation with the Genesis Connected Services App and a ‘deep-learning image processing controller’. Hopefully that means you won’t be locked out if you forgot to shave or decided to experiment with a new look on a whim.
To actually start the GV60 without the key in this manner you’ll need to use the built-in fingerprint scanner.
Which means, yes, we have now entered the era of Mission Impossible: Real Life. And you’d better start watching out for suspicious characters carrying an instant printer and a cigar cutter.
Does anyone actually want this stuff?
We’re sure the millions of smartphone users who utilise this kind of technology everyday will be thrilled. And, as previously intimated, being able to move the car around without being burdened by a physical key will surely be a boon to lifestyle types and the serially forgetful.
The car’s current status – Locked / Unlocked / Doing your online banking for you – is shown by an LED indicator on the b-pillar for peace of mind. Genesis also swears blind that no biometric data is stored anywhere aside from inside the encrypted software carried by the automobile. It will not be uploaded or retrievable remotely.
Is Genesis doing anything else with keys?
Alongside the facial stuff, Genesis is also introducing a Digital Key.
This will allow owners to share access to the GV60 with up to three other people via a smartphone rather than a physical key.
You don’t even need to be anywhere near the car to allow this, which will be handy if you’ve left the country on business and only then discovered that your child has left their best cuddly toy sitting on the backseat while the car is parked on the driveway and the key happens to be in your pocket. For instance.
The Digital Access can even be time-limited for additional security.
Is Genesis doing anything else with the 2023 GV60?
Hard to care when the future is literally staring you in the face, but the updated electric SUV will also gain a bunch of standard features for 2023.
These include an Ergo Motion driver’s seat with massage function, heated seats front and rear, and 64-colour ambient lighting for every model – now extended to the lower cabin. There’s also a new Air Purification System, which activates automatically when dust levels are too high.
If you weren’t already going to buy one we doubt this will make the difference, but extra stuff id good stuff, and the GV60 is certainly one of the more interesting electric cars around at the moment.