Locks, a form of access control, have not changed much in the last 2000 years since they were first invented by the Ancient Romans. Most people continue to use good old-fashioned locks and metal keys to access their houses.
In the last 40 years, lock technology has evolved from the humble lock and metal key to networked locks with keycards, commonly found in hotels and offices. More recently 3G/4G and Wi-Fi technologies, designed for humans to connect to the internet, are being used in locks. The arrival of the Internet of Things (IoT), however, is changing locks and other machines in new profound ways.
In the last few years, IoT has moved from fiction to reality. By 2020, there will be over 14 billion network-enabled devices, according to the International Energy Agency. This compares to approximately 3.2 billion people using the internet today. IoT dramatically widens the internet’s scope from people-operated computers towards autonomous smart devices. Often, these devices are connected to the internet for remote diagnostics & control, leading to cost savings.
In many cases, business users & private users can control their IoT applications through existing smartphones and tablets, and through mobile applications that interact with web servers which the devices are connected to.
A new IoT technology, called NarrowBand IoT (NB IoT), built specifically for machine to machine connections, has been developed by telecommunication companies, utilizing their mobile networks. For the first time, devices have their own network operating on a licensed NarrowBand frequency, which is more secure and reliable than its broadband counterpart designed for humans.
LEAPIN Digital Keys has developed the world’s first complete end-to-end smart access control system on the NB IoT network. The system comprises of a Digital Keys Management Platform, API’s and SDK’s, Digital Keys apps, and NB IoT smart locks.