Vanderbilt University Successfully Tests Smartphone Door Locks
Imagine the convenience of being able to lock your front door, open your garage, and access the gated parking at work all from one device that you already carry with you every day. You would no longer need to keep track of keys, garage door openers, and parking passes. If this sounds like an exciting possibility to you, you’ll be pleased to hear that it is close to becoming reality. The next generation of security is just around the corner with the successful conclusion of a smartphone access control system experiment. You may soon enter your home and office using a smartphone door lock after participants in a Vanderbilt University trial found that the technology passed the test for functionality and usability.
What Was Tested?
Vanderbilt tested smartphone technology that makes it possible to unlock or open doors from a distance. The university enlisted 15 participants who used a mixture of Apple and Android devices equipped with a mobile app for unlocking or opening doors. Subjects used the mobile app to release door locks around the university’s campus as well as to open the entry gate to a parking garage.
What Were the Results?
Participants found that the smartphone technology worked well, was convenient, and was easy to use. Some of the positive news from the subjects’ findings includes:
- Mobile phones are carried at all times and therefore easier to find and less likely to be lost than passes or keys.
- The ability to open a parking garage entry gate from a distance is a great improvement to rolling down a window and extending an access card outside.
- Downloading and setting up the smartphone access technology app was simple and required less than 5 minutes to complete.
Find out more about Emerging Technology to Improve Campus Security.
With positive results like this, you may soon be unlocking your front door’s smartphone deadbolt before you get to the front porch. To find out about more about the latest in commercial security technology or our university locksmith services, call Great Valley Lockshop at (610) 644-5334 or send an email to [email protected]. We can help answer your questions and assist you with your security needs.
