OK, so there are always plenty of DHL/DPD/Yodel-left-my-new-iPad-in-a-bush delivery nightmares on here. I’ve been asked to do some work for a tech start up that has developed a secure delivery-to-your-car technology.

I’ve managed to get some people in London to get organic veg delivered to their car boots (the tech works) but they want to know whether it’s worth developing their application into a remote opening application for any delivery.

Basically this means the courier can call your number and you can open your car boot from wherever you are. The courier to leaves the parcel/case of wine/groceries in the boot and you can relock it from afar. Kind of like the thing Tesla has – but with any car.

How scary/good does this sound? My transport planning head says anything that stops couriers delivering to people’s workplace is good (this is now a sizeable congestion factor in city centres) but will people use it?

Sounds good. But why stop there. How about a web linked secure box by your house/flat too?. I have designed in grocery delivery cupboards by house front doors before, but they were not secure. Add a bit of your tech and then it’s sorted for parcel delivery too.

I wouldn’t let a courier anywhere near my car… and possible risk of people claiming things have gone missing from the boot etc?

As above some kind of secure box would make more sense to me

Secure box at a house is a good idea, certainly sounds more safe than a car boot.

Sorry, but every time I hear ‘internet connected’ and ‘secure’ and ‘app’ in the same sentence I get the cold shivers. Unless you make it secure, properly secure, _AND_ use proper, upgradable crypto, _AND_ pen-test it properly, it _will_ get pwned.

How does the customer unlock the car remotely?

Sound rediculous to me.

Does this involve some stupidly expensive retro fit gadget that will enable people to steal your car and/or contents?

I’m out.

How does the customer unlock the car remotely?

We’re only at the company logo stage at the moment. This part will come after the second round of funding.

Given the rise in cases of cars with keyless tech being nicked without the keys recently, as a consumer I’d be HUGELY wary of anything like this and likewise for the creator/seller of the service, you’d have to be supremely confident it wasn’t easy hacked.

+ leaving expensive stuff in car boots?
+ giving a courier (assume they’ll have extensive background checks) access to potentially very expensive cars
+ I assume they find the car via the same mechanism that allows you to open it remotely, some kind of GPS thing? Otherwise you’ll have a courier driving around and around a multi storey car park looking for a white Audi A3/A4 etc of which there’ll be hundreds.

Quite like the secure box at home thing though but that could be done easier by having a secure box somewhere with a steering lock type mechanism in it. Leave it open when you go to work, courier delivers something, closes the door and presses the lock down, locking it for when you return home and open it with your keys…

Royalties can be paid to…. (although I suspect that idea must exist somewhere already!)

Given the rise in cases of cars with keyless tech being nicked without the keys recently, as a consumer I’d be HUGELY wary of anything like this and likewise for the creator/seller of the service, you’d have to be supremely confident it wasn’t easy hacked.

+1 sounds like a really awful idea all in all!

Yak’s idea of a non-car based remote lock box is good though. Maybe he’ll let OP’s team buy him out?!

My van has a faulty door open sensor, so it won’t lock properly at the moment. If you want, get the courier to bung your stuff in the back, I’ll drop it off next time I’m passing. 😀

Notwithstanding the security issues, it’s hard enough to get a courier to deliver to a fixed location that has been in the same place for years and is unlikely to move e.g. yourguitarhero’s flat.

What chance will they have of delivering to a location that is moveable at any time?

How about a web linked secure box by your house/flat too?

I think this is a far better idea than giving some stranger access to your car.

If it’s a hatchback/estate/MPV you’re opening it up to all sorts of possible abuse.

Yak’s idea of a non-car based remote lock box is good though

There have been various attempts at this already.
Amazon have a fairly nutty variant in the pipeline (unlock the front door) amongst others.
Carboot sounds a really, really bad idea. Leaving aside the individual car security I cant see office managers being overly happy at couriers wandering around staff car parks trying to find the correct car.

We’re only at the company logo stage at the moment. This part will come after the second round of funding.

That sounds like someone with bitter experience of the process.

Also IoT just no. The car manufacturers can’t get it right or refuse to put it right.

My 911 does not have a boot 🙁

My 911 does not have a boot

Have you tried looking at the front?

I’d worry about my car boot getting hot enough to cook my groceries in the summer..

What chance will they have of delivering to a location that is moveable at any time?

What3words

My 911 does not have a boot

Hang on.

Nope. Nothing. 🙂

I think it’s got potential. But rather than individual vehicles which would be rather time consuming to locate in busy car parks, they could put boxes, sort of like individual lockers, in communal / public spaces that are easily accessed, and leave the stuff there – the customer just has to pop by and grab it with a code or something like that provided by the delivery firm.

Oh, hang on a minute…

+ giving a courier (assume they’ll have extensive background checks)

e.g. name of boat they’ve just got off.

I have a lockable box specifically for courier deliveries. It’s left unlocked, and then the courier can lock it by twisting the knob 😯 after placing the parcel in.

The number of them that manage to make a hash of it, despite instructions for use written in 6″ writing on the top of it.

I think anything that requires more than “chuck parcel into recycling bin” will prove too much of a challenge…

Actually an interesting point is raised. Many cars are parked on works, private, secure etc car parks during the day. So let alone getting into the car, who is going to be giving access to the location the car is in.

I had to read the OP a few times to make sure I understood what was being proposed.

In any case, my first port of call would be to contact car insurers. I suspect their response would put paid to the whole idea.

If you could make it so they’d not be able to sign off the delivery until they’ve let the dogs out for a leg stretch and a poo I’d be interested…

We’re only at the company logo stage at the moment. This part will come after the second round of funding.

Hmmm… the trial is funded and they’re not looking for investment at the moment. The tech is designed by an automotive software and hardware engineer and there are ‘closed’ systems using or about to start using it.

The veg delivery trial has two van drivers who are long term company employees so there are fewer concerns about allowing ‘random strangers’ access.

The business to business application is pretty clear – there are a number of industries that manage maintenance and repair vans that need resupplying overnight. Currently spare keys are given to delivery companies – this tech removes that necessity and single use time limited encrypted keys are attractive in this environment.

The question is not whether it’ll work or is useful in some circumstances but whether it’s the kind of thing individuals will use… I’m getting the picture 😉

As per willard’s post, this recent security fail would have me concerned,
One of our service providers uses the secure boxes outside Morrisons for part delivery.