Car sharing services like Zipcar are becoming increasingly popular, offering a convenient alternative to car ownership, especially for those living in urban environments. A key component of these services is the Car Door Lock Scanner, a technology that simplifies vehicle access. Recently, I had my first experience using Zipcar and encountered an interesting quirk with their car door lock scanner system, prompting me to consider how these systems function and potential areas for improvement.
The process of accessing a Zipcar vehicle is designed to be seamless. You approach the car, and on the windshield is a scanner. This car door lock scanner is activated by your Zipcard. Initially, questions arise: How does it work? Where are the keys? What about fuel? The answers are quite ingenious. The scanner reads your Zipcard to unlock the doors. The car keys are securely attached inside the vehicle, often on a zipline near the ignition. For fueling, a prepaid gas card is available, usually located in the driver’s side visor, requiring mileage and Zipcard number input for security against fraud.
My first interaction with the car door lock scanner was smooth, but upon returning to the vehicle after locking it manually using the power door lock, I experienced an unexpected issue. Instead of unlocking the car when I scanned my card again, the doors locked. A second swipe of my card then unlocked the vehicle. This incident raised a question about the underlying mechanism of the scanner.
While I can only speculate on the exact implementation, it seems the car door lock scanner operates by sending either a “lock” or an “unlock” signal to the car, much like a standard key fob. The critical limitation appears to be the scanner’s inability to determine the current lock state of the vehicle. Instead, it likely maintains an internal state. In my case, after initially unlocking the car with the scanner, the system assumed the doors were unlocked. Locking the car manually with the power door lock changed the actual state, but the scanner was unaware. Therefore, my first scan upon return, interpreted as an unlock command by the scanner (which internally thought the doors were unlocked), inadvertently locked the doors again. The second scan, then, correctly unlocked the car.
This potential design quirk highlights a possible enhancement for car door lock scanner systems. If vehicles could respond to a “toggle lock” signal, in addition to separate “lock” and “unlock” signals, the scanner wouldn’t need to maintain an internal lock state. Each scan could simply send a “toggle lock” command, ensuring the door lock state is reversed with each interaction, regardless of the previous state. While the current system is functional, incorporating a “toggle lock” signal could offer a more robust and user-friendly experience for car sharing and potentially other vehicle access systems utilizing car door lock scanner technology.
