With the evolution of Home Automation & security, rising of digital door lock industry was not a big surprise. Our conventional & pre-conceived notion of door locks has been hitting new highs in access control & security solutions. In the earlier days of lock industry advancement, we used electromagnetic doors that came with an electromagnet frame mounted on the lock along with an armature (an electrical coil) which acted upon receiving the power providing a higher level of security. Eventually, these locks became a liability because of their dependency on power and fall risk. In case of the loss of power, these locks tend to either get locked or they tend to open the locking system, either way that became a question of security. The lock industry has come with such innovative solutions that changed how we perceived the lock & access control system.
Regardless of methodologies implemented, the purpose of security and restriction of undesired entries remained same in almost all sectors i.e, Hospitality Industry, Residential, Healthcare industry, etc. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say lock industry has most certainly improvised by modifying their technologies with subject to their client applications. The upcoming of digital door locks opened the door (literally!) to new opportunities by granting the remote access to door locks to monitoring of the visitors, the impeccable locking facilities that became supportive in case of a lock down or an emergency. Places such as hotels, hospitals, schools where monitoring and authorizing the access to multiple people completely erased the concept of holding key for the access every time. The new locks came with upgraded technology such as RFID cards, Electronic Keypads, Fingerprint scanner or combination of all these. The multi method access can also be fruitful rather than relying on one meticulous method to obtain maximum outcome & to avoid lesser to minimal errors.
Benefits of Digital Door Locks:
Simple design with higher security
Quick Access prospects
Autonomous operability of the locks
Complete control on the operability
In case of breaking & entering, the integration with alarm system proved to be helpful.
Hassell-free access without losing keys/cards
Availability of mechanical keys in case of malfunction
Long lasting battery with low battery alerts on the lock
Remote area access with an application or Bluetooth connection
Retraction of lock in case of intrusion or tempering with the system
Durability & weather-proof
Applications:
In hospitality industry where frequent entries of people are expected, it is obsolete to provide each individual with a key/card. A common shared PIN among the students & teachers monitors the logs & eliminates the possibility of unauthorized personnel.
In case residential application, the objective is to make the house as secure as possible from Burglars & thefts. The home automation industry has now covered a large area in access control where the digital door locks are integrated with remote area access & Burglar alarm system. Child-proofing the locks is a vital feature where the complete parental control is either mobile operated or with accessibility of mechanical keys in case of a lock down.
In hospitals where the constant rush of patients/doctors/nurses is observed, the utilization of keys/cards is not believed to be a viable option; however, since hospitals employees work on different shifts, it is necessary to keep track record of the employees in order to monitor the patients & to prevent the theft against medicines. In such scenarios, it is a wise option to grant the access by Pin or biometrics with the inbuilt locks.