Smart Phones Hold the Keys to Front Doors
Knock, knock. Who's there? A brand-new generation of hardware and app combos that let you play doorman from anywhere
Houzz Contributor. I'm a Silicon Valley-based writer, columnist and blogger, covering technology and culture. http://elgan.com
Houzz Contributor. I'm a Silicon Valley-based writer, columnist and blogger,... More »
| Share: |
|
The smart phone has become the mother of all electronic devices for one very simple reason: You always have it with you. And that's why a phone is a great place to put all the stuff related to your door. For example, you can virtualize the key, the peephole, the doorbell and other elements of the door, and put everything on your phone to be used from anywhere over the Internet.
There are major advantages for doing this (besides laziness). For example, you can send a key via email to unlock your door. You can hear knocks on the door or the ringing of the doorbell even when you're not at home. And you can see who's there even when you're not.
Three new products take electronic door stuff to the next level. All of them are crowd-funded projects still in development. But if everything goes according to plan, you'll be able to buy all of them, and at an affordable cost, by summer 2013.
There are major advantages for doing this (besides laziness). For example, you can send a key via email to unlock your door. You can hear knocks on the door or the ringing of the doorbell even when you're not at home. And you can see who's there even when you're not.
Three new products take electronic door stuff to the next level. All of them are crowd-funded projects still in development. But if everything goes according to plan, you'll be able to buy all of them, and at an affordable cost, by summer 2013.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Some phone-based door products enable you to use your phone much as you would a key. You walk up to the door, pull out your phone instead of your key, then unlock the door with your phone.
One offering in this category is the UniKey, which uses Bluetooth wireless technology to unlock the door. You just touch the UniKey deadbolt, and it unlocks if your phone is within a few feet of the lock. (Anyone can lock the door without a phone.)
But the UniKey system also does another neat trick. From the UniKey app, you can send an electronic copy of the "key" — for example, if you want to let a friend into your house while you're away, you can send the key over the Internet, then the friend can use it to unlock your door. You can also revoke keys using the app and send keys that work only during certain hours of the day.
Pricing hasn't been announced for the UniKey, but the company says it will be less than $199.
One offering in this category is the UniKey, which uses Bluetooth wireless technology to unlock the door. You just touch the UniKey deadbolt, and it unlocks if your phone is within a few feet of the lock. (Anyone can lock the door without a phone.)
But the UniKey system also does another neat trick. From the UniKey app, you can send an electronic copy of the "key" — for example, if you want to let a friend into your house while you're away, you can send the key over the Internet, then the friend can use it to unlock your door. You can also revoke keys using the app and send keys that work only during certain hours of the day.
Pricing hasn't been announced for the UniKey, but the company says it will be less than $199.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| A company called Agipy is working on a very convenient smart phone lock called Lockitron. Rather than being a replacement deadbolt, the Lockitron fits over your existing deadbolt and turns it phyiscally when you send the command from your phone. The box runs on AA batteries, and the smart phone app will tell you when they need replacing. You can also turn the lock by hand. Lockitron connects through your home's Wi-Fi network, which means you can unlock the door from anywhere in the world over the Internet. And the Lockitron does a few more neat tricks. It can sense you approaching by detecting the Bluetooth signal from your phone as you approach the door, and will unlock the door automatically. It also has a knock sensor; when someone knocks on the door, you get a message. You can also grant access to others by sending them permission over email. Lockitron was actually rejected by the crowd-funding site Kickstarter, so the developers did their own crowd-funding effort and raised a small fortune. They expect deliveries of the product by summer 2013. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Another crowd-sourced phone-controlled door project is called DoorBot. The DoorBot, made by a company called Edison Junior, installs next to your door with four screws. It has a doorbell and a camera, and runs on AA batteries that last a year, according to the company. The camera is infrared capable, so you can even see who's at the door at night. The way it works is that when visitors ring the doorbell, your phone alerts you and you can see who's there, even when you're not at home. And you can speak to them through your phone. Perhaps best of all, the DoorBot is designed to work with the Lockitron, so not only can you see and speak with whoever's at your door, but you can let the person in, too. |
Ideabook published on Dec. 26, 2012.
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
Find Local Pros by Category:
Architects & Designers · Carpet and Flooring · Closet & Home Storage Designers · Design-build Firms · Fireplaces · General Contractors · Home Media Design & Installation · Interior Designers & Decorators · Kitchen & Bath Designers · Landscape Architects & Designers · Landscape Contractors · Specialty Contractors · Tile, Stone & Countertops
Find Local Pros by Metro Area:
Atlanta · Austin · Baltimore · Boston · Chicago · Dallas · Dc Metro · Denver · Detroit · Hawaii · Houston · Las Vegas · Los Angeles · Miami · Minneapolis · Nashville · New Orleans · New York · Philadelphia · Phoenix · Portland · Salt Lake City · San Diego · San Francisco · Seattle · St Louis
I love technology (obviously, since I'm commenting by computer), but when so many life necessities become tied to one object, that object becomes awfully precious. There's a point at which technology is no longer serving us - we are serving it. It's bad enough with the car. At least I don't have to give a corporation money every time I use my door key.
Some of these functions become "crutches", so the kids don't learn to be responsible for their keys, since someone else can always let them in remotely! In 30 years on my own, I only misplaced my door key once .. and that taught me to have a couple of back-ups.
I do like technology, though. Especially when it solves a problem.
I like the DoorBot so I can see who is standing at my door without approaching it. I have a glass front door. It makes for a beautiful, but less private entryway. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I have a metal back door with no peephole. I'd like to say that no one should ever have reason to knock on my backdoor unless they're looking for trouble. If that's what they're looking for, then the DoorBot on the back door will give me a chance to take precautions.
The DoorBot would be a welcome addition to my home security system.
This might be a little more advance than some of you are ready for. But for technology lovers like me, this is fantastic. If it would open the door for me when I have a handful of groceries, that would be AWESOME! OOOh, like a foot activated door release!!!
many folk will buy these gadgets but they're a few years from making any sense (teething problems and aesthetics aside). For starters, they would make more sense if they used NFC instead of Bluetooth and, I think, we need a world in which smart phones are basically standard items
My biggest concern with these early models is security: can it be hacked, can it be manipulated, will new updates cause it to fail?
I like the push button lock idea. I've got a heavy duty lockbox installed for emergencies.
Even if the hacker is a local one that can actually take advantage of opening your door so that they can access your home, do you think that is any different than the guys we've had for thousands of years that break into your low tech home with low tech devices?
I think the people's concerns here are valid. These devices are for convenience - they're wants and not needs. I'd hate to buy a cool new gadget just for it to cost me everything.
Remember, even with electronic locks (without or without iPhone controls) there is usually a manual way of still opening/locking the door. I say "usually" because even though I've never seen an electronic door lock without a manual way to lock/unlock it, I'm sure that someone will have seen one somewhere.
Yes, these devices are for convenience – nothing more. However, they are a very, very huge convenience factor. And since a hacker in Russia can do nothing to your home with remote lock/unlock, you cannot lose anything to them. And your risk of losing everything to someone physically on your street is no more or less than you had before installing one of these locks.
These offer some added convenience in some situations but they also offer up more ways that things can go wrong.. But nobody sells products with the idea that they will break - but all things break eventually and all electronic go wrong one day.
You have a key that can be lost or (rarely) break but that's about it. With these, you can break it, lose it, find it gets a virus, gets wet and stops working, run out of batteries, just randomly have an 'unanticipated conflict' with someoother technoogy, can be replicated infinitely and so on and so on.. It's software and even the best designed software is far from infallible - plus you never know who or what will be controlling it in future..
"Convenience" is frequently a way to hand more and more control or responsibility to others so before long Facebook or Siri or google or someone will be providing you with the convenience of linking all your domestic appliances and electronic lighting and door controls etc to be all linked to your account for easy management which all happens to be stored on their servers and synchronised over their cloud and then cross referred so as to better "provide you with more targeted products and services" blah blah
Thin end of the wedge I say.
It might make me sound about 30 years older than i am but when it comes to certain basic things, the old ways are probably the best.
1) I already did.
2) I already said the Lockitron and Unikey still allow for manual key use because one is a deadbolt and the other fits over your existing deadbolt.
3) Why Russia, and who said the person who breaks into your house will be the one who figured out how to unlock it remotely? Why hack your door so it unlocks, it would be more fun to hack your door to lock you out. Forget computer hackers altoghether, I wonder if you can control/short the system with a taser. Forget breaking in, I wonder if the next app download to your phone just force closes ever time you try to open it.
Anyways, back to the crime thing. In the end, they're just another deadbolt or deadbolt accessory- I get that. I hope that my current deadbolt will be difficult and discouraging to a robber and the robber will move one. I don't want to buy something for my convenience that inavertently makes it more convenient for an uninvited guest to get in. I hope to beat my ratio, not hand over the win on a silver platter.
And I expect the remote locking ability to actually make my house a little more secure because if I forget to lock my door, I can remotely lock it. A good electronic locking system will also be able to tell me when people lock/unlock it and who they are (providing they are not good hackers).
So for example, if I have a pet sitter taking care of my animals, I can give them a code and know whey they actually went in to take care of my pets. And I can be sure that they locked the door after they were finished or I can lock it for them should they have missed locking up.
For, example, if you purchase an Android phone today and also a lock with software that runs on the Android phone, then later purchase a Windows 8 phone, there is a chance that you will not have the lock software that will run on your new phone. So, in that case you would either have to change phone or lock/software. However, if you stay with phones that you know will run your software, then there should be no problems. Short answer...it depends on what you buy for lock and phone.
Back to the two year comment. I know many people that are still very, very happy with the iPhone 3GS handsets. Those phones originally shipped in June 2009. As you can see that is about 3 and a half years and they are still running strong including running the latest iPhone updates.
I have had an intercom style lock in the past that used to unlock and open the door whenever a taxi on a particular radio frequency went past. Nightmare especially at 1am.
Being able to see who is at my door via my phone is wonderful particularly if I have transferred to sofa from wheelchair. Being able to unlock door via phone would be fabulous too. Now I just need to automate my curtains!