Reviews Keyless Technologies on Door Locks

Keyless door lock does not use the traditional key any more.

From the earliest mechanical cipher locks to the present face recognition locks,various keyless  technologies has flourished over the past 20 years.

Popular Keyless technologies on door lock

Pincode

Pincode(pass code) door lock born very early. The mechanical pincode door locks have over 20 years old.They are the 1st generation keyless door lock.

Electronical pincode door locks become popular in the beginning of 21century.

A very common way except the key. It is widely used in family house especially in North America. There are many famous brands of keyless entry door locks.

The mechanical pincode door lock controle the clutch bite by the mechanical structure behind the code button of lock.
The electronic pincode door lock have a memory that stores preset codes.

PROS-No need carry key, then entry code can also be shared to other peopel when necessary.

CONS-Guessing or hacking the code could happens. The code must be remembered well. And once the code is known by other guys it should be modified to a new one.

Brands-
Kwikset
Schlage
Baldwin

RFID

Strictly speaking, RFID is not really KEYLESS, because it still requires user to carry a key card. But it is so common in the field that except the pincode way.
We cannot ignore the great role it plays in replacing traditional keys.

PROS-No need carry key, And the using time of the key card could be limited very well.

CONS-Still user need take such a card as a key, and the card may get lost also.

Brands-
DORMAKABA
KAHN
Vingcard

Finger(bio)

As the very early bio identify technology, fingerprint appeared in not only on door lock but also on high security field such as access control and bank.

PROS- No need carry key, The finger is the door key. High security level and contactless.

CONS-This is a contact identify way, so the finger reader must keep clean.
And always there is issues for kid and old man using. Because the kid and old man’s finger many not sense.

Brands-

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is actually not an identify technology. It is only a communicate way that send the key wirelessly to the door lock.  People like call such locks’ bluetooth lock’.

The virtual key existed in an APP installed on smartphone.

PROS- No need carry key, but user should take the smartphone and keep it battery on when ready to use the digital key.

CONS-Bluetooth’s security when communication with lock is an potential problem.
And the BLE is always existing as a ‘Plan B’ except the RFID.

Brands-
Yale

QR code

QR Code lock was invented by the Chinese due to the QR code is so popular in China, from paying to accessing. People will use QR code paying for food, take bus and taxi,Present it as digital ticket.
It existing everywhere so we are not feel strange this lock was born in China.

PROS- Identifying contactless, similar with RFID way.  The key could be digital in smartphone screen or paper print out. It is so flexible.

CONS-It is not safe than key card due to the key is just a picture, once it is photographed, the lock will lose its function .Safety and convenience are always incompatible.

Face ID

The earliest face ID door locks appeared in around 2013.Also this is the latest keyless door lock.
This is still a cutting edge, just like it in the high-tech and fantastic films.
Face recognition technology is based on human facial features, it processing the recognition of input face image.

Its recognition process is roughly as follows
1.Determine whether there is a face or not.
2.After recognizing the face, scan the position, size and location information of each face and each major facial organ.
3. Compare it with the stored face info to identify if it have the access permit

PROS- Door lock can acquire user information actively without user contact. High security level and contactless.
CONS-Face state is not stable, easy to be affected by many factors.
Human face is not the same as the fingerprint(fingerprint only changes on child and old man), eyelashes, glasses, masks, hairstyles and external light are easy to affect the identification of camera.
And locks consume much more energy to acquire faces than fingerprint locks do to acquire fingerprints.Lighting is also required in dark situations. All these makes it need more battery than usual electronic door locks. 8xAA battery needed is common in face ID door locks.

Keyless door lock trends

In the year started from 2010, more keyless door locks equipped multi open ways.
Samsung Push Pull door lock provide the way of fingerprint,RFID card,pincode and even digital key.

Any way, the technology has evolved in response to human needs.With the general trend of KEYLESS, door locks that are more suitable for use scenarios emerge in an endless stream.

In the near future, there will definitely be more KEYLESS technologies, such as eye recognition, palm recognition, 5G technology, etc. 

Technology makes life better.