JLR partners with Tile to help Discovery Sport owners find their wallets

Posted on 11 May 2016 by Tim Brown

The 2017 Land Rover Discovery Sport will integrate a Bluetooth tracking system from technology company Tile to help owners keep track of their personal belongings.

The tracking app, which will be built into the entertainment system of the new Discovery Sport, uses tiny Bluetooth trackers, called Tile tags, that can be attached to important items and used to track their whereabouts using a smartphone.

Jaguar Land Rover has partnered with Tile to help customers locate lost items with Bluetooth tracking - image courtay of JLR.
Jaguar Land Rover has partnered with Tile to help customers locate lost items with Bluetooth tracking – image courtay of JLR.

According to a study of 2,000 people in the UK, the average person spends 15 minutes a day searching for lost items.

The new in-vehicle app is designed to reduce this. Once the app is initiated using the vehicle’s central touchscreen, customers are alerted if specified items are not inside the vehicle and are even able to get on-screen directions to their last known location.

Peter Virk, Jaguar Land Rover’s director of connected technologies and apps, said:  “Losing your wallet or leaving your child’s sports kit behind isn’t just an inconvenience. The realisation you’ve mislaid something important can be a cause of distraction. Our unique partnership with Tile means customers can check the status of tagged items using Discovery Sport’s touchscreen, so forgotten items will be a thing of the past.”

Jaguar Land Rover is the first automotive company to integrate Tile with its in-car entertainment system. The partnership allows customers to establish a list of ‘Essentials’ using the vehicle touchscreen, which are always checked when the app is initiated. If items are lost inside the vehicle, customers are able to sound a 90-decibel alarm on the Tile tag, to help locate them.

Mike Farley, CEO of Tile, said his company was really excited to be partnering with Jaguar Land Rover: “We believe this integration will provide many benefits such as improved assurance and peace of mind about the whereabouts of essential items, helping drivers save time before they embark on journeys.

“Having increased the number of Tiles in circulation from two million to over five million in the last six months alone, we are confident of the extensive advantages this will bring to Jaguar Land Rover customers globally.”

The Tile smartphone app is compatible with both Android and Apple platforms. Users can locate a lost device immediately if it is within Bluetooth range. Or if an item is left behind or stolen, a user can mark the item as lost via the app and it puts all other tile apps on notice of the missing item. If another Tile app user comes within range of the item, a notification will be sent to the owner of the product detailing its approximate location.

New Land Rover mobile phone

Land Rover has also announced a partnership with British consumer electronics company Bullitt Group to develop a bespoke smartphone and range of accessories.

Bullitt Group, one of the fastest growing and largest privately-owned technology groups in the UK, is partnering with Land Rover to define and develop a groundbreaking portfolio of mobile devices and peripherals which will take the brand into a new and exciting commercial terrain.

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