I’ve experienced consumer smart locks (Kevo and August). I firmly believe any “Key” that must be network connected to the lock will never be a better experience than an ordinary key. If there’s a network glitch and it takes 5s to connect, that’s a terrible experience. If I have to open an app, terrible experience.
The smart lock holy grail, for me, would be medium-long range RFID. I want my presence to unlock the door, with ultra low latency and ultra high reliability.
Smart locks available to consumers now are acceptable for infrequent visitors at best.
What I don't get is why these locks all seem to do real time connections, when we have public key crypto! The "key" should just be a certificate signed by the owner's, which could then by verified offline by the lock. You'd just need a periodical sync to get revocations (if you needed to kick someone off the place prematurely). It's old, well established tech!
Why do you need ultra low latency? Unless you mean in the order of 0.1s - 1s, that seems reasonable. I'm thinking low latencies with a context of gaming, where the best latencies are 0.001s - 0.01s.
I mean ultra low compared to physically inserting a key. Kevo takes considerably longer than that, especially if you are accustomed to already having your keys out and ready as you approach your door.
i.e. how "keys" work on modern cars. my fob gets put into my pants pockte at the beginning of the day, and I forget about it. Enter/Exit/Start/Stop the car by just being there. It opens when I pull it open, and locks when I lock away.
It seems easy these days to find a complex, "powerful", "cloud based" security system.
What I've been struggling to find is a reliable, simple, easy to use, residential FOB system for 1-5 doors and 1-5 users.
Problem statement: my father-in-law has never locked the door in his life; if I want to change this habit, it has to be as simple and easy as possible. A FOB would be ideal - just tap his keychain/wallet/whatever and go. But I'm struggling to find something that isn't wireless and complex and server/cloud based... :-<
I got a Samsung NFC lock recently so I could unlock my house with an NFC chip I had implanted in my hand about a year ago. Awesomeness of having my house key in my hand aside, the lock itself is very capable, and I'm quite happy with it as a standalone device. It comes with 5 NFC FOBs which will unlock the door, and each one is tied to a unique PIN combination. If you can't find your FOB, you can still use the PIN. It's been really effective at my house and for house guests.
It's not perfect, but it's reasonable. No cloud, and no traditional key option/alternative (that was my requirement: if you want to prevent lock picking/bumping, don't have a key option at all!).
> And the off-the-shelf battery is user replaceable (from outside!) with a single set screw.
This is an incredibly terrible idea. "Replaceable from the outside" also means "can be stolen from the outside", at which point you only need a single jerk with a screwdriver to leave people locked out of their homes or businesses.
I thought the same, but that’s not a new vulnerability. With conventional locks, that jerk can use a screwdriver or cyanoacrylate glue to the same effect.
Some safes with electronic locks have external electric contact pads that allow one to temporarily attach a battery to power the lock if the battery is dead, but of course, that may open a new vulnerability: an attacker who applies high-voltage to those contacts.
I'm imagining an elaborate battery black market. One vendor specializes in 9Vs. Sure, they're partially discharged, but if you're unscrupulous you can get mobile power for cheap...
For context, consider that I live in a city where homeless people can regularly be seen hoarding multiple partialy disassembled bicycles that were almost always stolen off the street.
What a terrible idea. I sometimes forgot my cellphone at home. With a regular RFID keyfob, you go to the main desk and can check out a replacement you return at the end of the day.
Key cards don't ever run out of battery.
Your fob reader can cache access in case it gets disconnected from the network (many have battery backups).
I didn't see standard keyfob support in there, but I can't image they'd launch it without that.
I mean, the cellphone aspect is just gimmicky. I don't see any other value adds here.
And all locks are pretty much deterrents. If someone wants to steal your TV, they're going to use a rock or a crowbar. No one is going to bother picking a lock unless they don't want you to know they've been there.
It's not a gimmick for Airbnbs and such. Giving out house keys is one of our biggest headaches, especially when people arrive late, since we don't live in the area.
Any company making products like this is going to need to do much more to prove it takes security seriously. Too many companies have shown that marketing matters significantly more than security.
I want my house lock to work like my car fob. Unlock when my hand touches the door handle if it senses the fob close by. And the fob should double as a batteryless RFID in case the battery dies. Oh, and can it be a bit slimmer than my car's fob please?
The smart lock holy grail, for me, would be medium-long range RFID. I want my presence to unlock the door, with ultra low latency and ultra high reliability.
Smart locks available to consumers now are acceptable for infrequent visitors at best.