Honda R&D Europe pledged a €30,000 grant earlier this year to work with Professor Thomas Engel and Dr Florian Adamsky at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg.

Technology to unlock a vehicle remotely by getting close to it and lock it by moving away remains vulnerable since devices available on the black market can hack these key signals.

This enables car thieves to unlock and start a car while its owner is just a fewer metres away. Making a subsequent insurance claim can be complicated because no traces are left behind.

Engel and his team are working on a solution with a smart device, that will analyse the time the signal needs to travel from the key to the car and assess if it occurs within a certain distance. When the signal exceeds a specific time, the system will recognise the tampering attempt and automatically lock the car.

According to the University of Luxembourg, other car manufacturers have tackled the vulnerability but no-one has yet created a secure and smart key entry system that does not require an internet connection or the push of a button.

The Honda grant will cover research activities for one year, after which both parties can agree to extend their partnership.