Goodix Leads Charge for Keyless Future with Bluetooth 6.1 Chip

SHENZHEN, China – December 29, 2025 – The era of fumbling for keys or even a phone to unlock a car is rapidly drawing to a close, replaced by a seamless experience where the vehicle simply recognizes and welcomes its owner upon approach. Accelerating this shift, Shenzhen-based Goodix Technology has unveiled its next-generation automotive-grade Bluetooth chip, the GR5410, positioning itself at the forefront of a technological race to make digital car keys more secure, precise, and ubiquitous.

The new System-on-a-Chip (SoC) is one of the first to embrace the newly released Bluetooth 6.1 specification and its innovative Channel Sounding feature. This technology promises to solve one of the most persistent vulnerabilities in existing keyless entry systems while paving the way for a new suite of smart vehicle functions.

A New Standard in Security and Convenience

For years, the convenience of keyless entry has been shadowed by a significant security flaw: the relay attack. This common method of car theft, which accounted for a staggering 94% of keyless car thefts in the UK in 2022, involves criminals using a device to capture the signal from a key fob inside a house and relay it to the vehicle outside, tricking the car into unlocking.

Goodix's GR5410 is engineered to render such attacks obsolete. The chip’s core innovation lies in its support for Bluetooth Channel Sounding, a technology that goes beyond simple signal strength to measure the true physical distance between the digital key (such as a smartphone) and the vehicle. By exchanging signals across dozens of RF channels using methods like Phase-Based Ranging (PBR) and Round-Trip Time (RTT), the system can determine proximity with remarkable precision.

Combined with Goodix's proprietary AI-based algorithms, the GR5410 solution claims a ranging accuracy of up to ±50 centimeters over a distance of more than 50 meters. This means a vehicle can differentiate with certainty whether an authorized device is genuinely next to the door or if its signal is being fraudulently relayed from dozens of meters away. This capability is a critical step in building the multi-layered security framework needed to earn consumer trust in a fully digital access world.

Goodix's Strategic Play in a Crowded Field

The push for smarter, more connected vehicles has turned the automotive semiconductor market into a highly competitive arena. The digital car key segment alone, valued at over $3.3 billion in 2024, is projected to surge to nearly $11 billion by 2033. This lucrative market has attracted industry giants, including NXP Semiconductors, Infineon Technologies, and Silicon Labs, all of whom are developing solutions that leverage technologies like Bluetooth, Near Field Communication (NFC), and Ultra-Wideband (UWB).

In this environment, Goodix is making a strategic play for market leadership through early adoption. The company announced it is among the first chip vendors to achieve dual certification for both the Bluetooth 6.1 specification and Channel Sounding. This early-mover advantage could be crucial in securing design wins with automakers and Tier 1 suppliers who are eager to integrate the latest standards into their next-generation vehicle platforms.

The company is not starting from scratch. Its existing digital car key solutions are already in commercial use across more than a dozen car models, primarily from Chinese automakers. Furthermore, a recent partnership with United Automotive Electronic Systems (UAES), a major Tier 1 supplier, will see Goodix’s Bluetooth SoCs integrated into UAES's digital key platforms. This collaboration includes pre-research on the new GR5410, signaling strong industry interest ahead of its planned pilot production in the first quarter of 2026.

Under the Hood: The Technology Driving the Change

Beyond high-precision ranging, the GR5410 and the underlying Bluetooth 6.1 standard bring a host of enhancements designed for modern automotive and IoT applications. The new specification introduces "Randomized RPA (resolvable private address) Updates," a feature that randomizes the timing of a device's address changes. This makes it significantly more difficult for unauthorized parties to track a device or its user, bolstering privacy.

The GR5410 itself is a highly integrated, power-efficient wireless MCU built for performance-critical environments. At its heart is Arm China's STAR-MC1 Core, which is paired with a comprehensive security architecture. It features a hardware security module (HSM) that supports secure boot, protected debugging, and encrypted storage. This "one-chip-one-key" mechanism provides a tamper-resistant foundation essential for protecting sensitive credentials like digital car keys.

The single-chip design also integrates a CAN FD interface, a crucial component for modern in-vehicle networking, allowing the chip to communicate directly with other vehicle systems without requiring additional components. This level of integration simplifies vehicle architecture, reduces costs, and improves reliability. The chip's proprietary low-power Bluetooth protocol stack ensures it can handle a wide range of use cases, from the high-precision ranging of Channel Sounding to the low-latency communication needed for other in-cabin functions.

The Road to Adoption and a Smarter Vehicle

While Goodix has already secured project selections for the GR5410, the path to widespread adoption depends on industry-wide standardization. Organizations like the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) are playing a pivotal role in creating interoperable standards that allow devices from different manufacturers, like an Apple iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy, to function securely as a digital key for any compatible vehicle. The CCC's work to standardize Bluetooth Channel Sounding alongside UWB and NFC is critical for creating a seamless and secure ecosystem.

The impact of this technology extends far beyond simply unlocking doors. Accurate and secure proximity awareness can enable a host of new smart features. Cars could automatically adjust seats, mirrors, and infotainment settings for an approaching driver, or activate personalized welcome lighting sequences. In the future, this same ranging technology could contribute to in-cabin safety systems, for example, by detecting the presence and location of occupants with greater accuracy.

As the automotive industry continues its profound transformation toward greater intelligence and connectivity, the development of foundational components like the GR5410 is essential. By pushing the boundaries of wireless technology, companies are enabling automakers to deliver the smarter, more convenient, and fundamentally more secure mobility experiences that consumers are beginning to expect.