Locks from non-traditional lock manufacturers

For many years, locks have been developed and manufactured for what you would call traditional lock manufacturers. Some of the biggest names are Schlage, Yale, Medeco, and Abloy, to name a few. Many of these companies are responsible for major innovations in mechanical locks. Now most of them have switched to making electronic locks.

Now, non-traditional lock companies are getting into the lock and security business. Some of these companies never made a lock, but they are software and electronics manufacturers. They have discovered that the next innovations in locks will be software, communications, networks and electronics. The mechanical part of these locks is the easy part.

For example, I recently heard the story of a company that developed a device that passed the inside thumb of a deadbolt lock. In theory this would work with any rotary latch bolt. The device was screwed just over the thumb twist. This device housed all the electronics and communications. This manufacturer developed an APP (Apple or Android), which communicated with the device via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. When I opened the APP and pressed the lock or unlock button, the device rotated the thumb which in turn locked or unlocked the latch.

This is an example of a company that did not manufacture any type of mechanical lock. Instead, they made a device that controlled the existing lock. There are other companies that are manufacturing network devices that will control many different types of locks similar to the locks found in an office building or in a hospital. This is a form of access control that has been around for years. The difference is that these companies are not your traditional lock companies and they do not use traditional means of access control. Instead, they have discovered a way to control and monitor many different types of locks made by many different lock companies.

In the near future, biometrics will gain greater acceptance as a means of monitoring locks. Companies like Apple® and Samsung® are already implementing biometrics on their phones. This is now used to make payments like a credit or debit card. It wouldn’t be a huge leap for these phones to control door locks in the same way that a payment is made.

Traditional lock makers will have no choice but to allow this communication and the smart ones will build that communication capability into their electronic locks.