The Intelligent Door Handle

Poromenos writes "Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute have developed the intelligent door handle. It combines a camera, buzzer, RFID locks and various other systems inside the door, making keys obsolete. RFID chips for opening doors will offer 'added advantages for elderly or handicapped people, saving them the trouble of wielding keys or holding the door open in order to get inside the building.'"

Comments

Technology for technologies sake

[LiquidCoooled]

Keys are a tried and tested, secure and relatively intelligent way to secure a house.
I would hate to be locked out of my house because of a power cut (battery charge doesn't last forever), or ignored because I'm drenched (and can't be recognised).

This is a solution searching for a problem.

(Having said that, electronic locks in addition to manual gives best of both worlds (like incar central locking)

Re:Technology for technologies sake

[einhverfr]

Keys are a tried and tested, secure and relatively intelligent way to secure a house.

I guess you have never seen someone pick a lock then.

I would hate to be locked out of my house because of a power cut (battery charge doesn't last forever), or ignored because I'm drenched (and can't be recognised).

Or a wiring malfunction. I would say reliability is a concern here. RFID snooping though is also a problem. I.e. what if I hold up a life-size picture of your head in front of the camera and use the RFID key I snooped from your key?

(Having said that, electronic locks in addition to manual gives best of both worlds (like incar central locking)

Well, it really depends on your environments. Many hotels use both lock types for the reason that the central management of guests is one thing and the complete access by maintenance staff is another. In this environment, they serve different needs.

For a large office building too, it is worth having electronic locks as your main lock and have your security personnel have the keys. However, if you go this route, I would highly suggest using dual-chambered locks, etc. because otherwise you go into an area where you might have the most access of both worlds (i.e. insecurity in bredth as opposed to defense in depth).

Re:Technology for technologies sake

[egburr]

Embedding it in your skin may make theft more difficult, but it also makes letting someone borrow your car or take care of your house while you are away a lot more difficult. Here, let me just dig this chip out of my arm and wash the blood off...

Yeah, I know you can have an external key or card containing another chip, but that kinda defeats your point, doesn't it?

The day when RFID scanners/duplicators are easily available probably isn't too far off, either. At least now, most people have to have physical possession of the key to make a copy of it.

question about design.. (not answered in article)

[yagu]

When it comes to something so fundamental and critical to a building in terms of entering and leaving (access) one criterion comes to mind as necessary. I don't see any mention in the article, I've got to assume this is considered. Does anyone know if there is code to this requirement?

My question is this: what is the behavior of a door with that kind of technology in total failure mode? What happens in a fire or some catastrophic event where the door

• loses power,
• faces extreme heat
• or cold,
• gets wet, etc.?

Is it designed to quiesce to a state whereby it behaves as an unlocked and openable door? I get nervous sometimes when I see technology used this way. (I'm pretty comfortable with the old pin/tumbler systems, and am perfectly aware they're not foolproof, nor the most convenient...)

Keys are keys

[The MAZZTer]

RFID chips are just another kind of key. We've been using them on campus longer than I've been here for dorm access. We use normal metal keys for room access.

Only significant differences I can see is that the RFID chip will eventually run out of juice and die (my ID card has been going strong for over two years so far tho), and it's alot easier to "change the locks" if you lose your RFID key.

Re:Keys are keys

[walt-sjc]

I guess you would be just as fucked as if someone stole the whole door, ran a bulldozer through the building, brought in a tactical nuke, a little C4, etc. Someone breaking into your house will probably go through a window, or just hip-check your front or back door where the whole jamb will splinter (very few homes in the US and elsewhere have metal door frames.)

People: We've been using battery powered locks on hotel rooms for MANY MANY years now. Ditto for RFID locks (prox cards) on commercial buildings. It's just not as big of a problem as you are making it. No lock is 100% secure. No door or building is either. It's a matter of making locks easier to use without sacrificing security or reliability. Key locks (unless you go with the very expensive commercial high-security units) are not all that secure and most can be picked in very little time. They bind, can be hard to use, slow to use, etc. Hell, I've got a front door where my wife can't unlock the deadbolt do to a binding problem.

I'm all for someone making a better lock.

Not so fast buddy

[Work Account]

I do see this as an interesting idea.

I'm sure there are bugs/flaws now, but give it some time.

I personally love innovation and research.

Just imagine if all those who poo-poo'd the idea of the Internet/World Wide Web had their way.

Re:Not so fast buddy

[Itchy Rich]

In other news, scientists have invented a new way you can lock yourself out!

Seriously though, I can see this being used for businesses where they might want records of who's coming in and out, but I certainly wont be buying one for my house.

Re:Actually you have it completely backwards

[technoextreme]

An RFID key is extremely useful to my family. My mother has really bad arthritis in her hands which makes it difficult for her sometimes to hold items like keys. My grandpa is also better off holding on to his walker instead of reaching out to keys. Though this doesn't take into consideration the fact that both are technologically inept.

And your point is?

[icefaerie]

What's the big deal? RFID has been used to open doors for quite some time now. To get into my dorm, all I have to do is wave my wallet at a sensor by the door.

The problem is, of course, what happens when you lose your ID card...

Re:Actually you have it completely backwards

[QuestorTapes]

> An RFID key is extremely useful to my family. My mother has really
> bad arthritis in her hands which makes it difficult for her sometimes
> to hold items like keys. My grandpa is also better off holding on
> to his walker instead of reaching out to keys.

Two excellent examples. Despite my own preference for mechanical keys and locks, this example indicates that something like this can provide real value to a lot of people.

but

[snib]

How much does it cost? Would anyone honestly pay an extra $1000 just to not have to turn a key?

Things that make you go "what were they thinking?"

[Fallen Kell]

Well, others have probably already said it, but I will repeat. What in the world happens when you lose power? Take the New Orleans area, which many places STILL do not have power after weeks of time. No battery pack will last that long, I am sorry. So what happens when it loses all the power? Will it lock everyone inside? Will it lock everyone out? If they are locked out, that is worse then them being locked inside, especially when you look at the fact that this is aimed at the elderly! I can see the news reports already, "Elderly man freezes to death outside home because his door wouldn't open".

Cool, but...

[nathan s]

...as others have commented, what happens when the power's cut and/or the batteries die? This is all nifty, but there is a lot to be said for the biomechanical lock (powered by a human arm, turning a key in a mechanical lock). I'd hope that the door at least has a non-electronic backup lock, although that wouldn't help much if your keys got locked inside...

That's pretty simple, really...

[Anonymous Coward]

It would be just like a normal door on that front. If you want to get out, you just open it. If you want to get in, you have to unlock it.

There's no need for a failure mode or anything else. The internal knob would have a bog-standard mechanism that opens the door despite the lock. The external knob would be affected by the lock. An electronic lock still has a mechanical lock at its heart. It can unlock that mechanism by activating a solenoid, but there's no reason not to have all the usual levers in place.

We've had electronic locks with keypads for decades now. These questions have long since been answered. The only change here is that an RFID activator unit has been put in place of the keypad activator unit.

Really, I'm stunned that people are responding to this article in the way you are. How can you not know about electronic locks? How can you think these kinds of building code requirements haven't been worked out for them? This technology was around before I was born.

It saddens me to see people saying "I don't know about these newfangled gadgets" in a case like this.

Simple logic.

[jupiter909]

Many people here are on about 'what if it fails'. The simple solution, it would have a MANUAL KEY OVERIDE.

Do none of you people have automatic gates on your houses? My gate has a motor to open it. I push a button and WOW it opens, it has so happened that the power and backup power was out due to lightning strike once. I opened the little gate in the big gate, stepped inside, unlocked the motor housing, then pulled the gate open. This has only ever happened once, so given that I use it everyday, getting wet to open a gate manually once every 10 years due to power failure is not a big price to pay.

Now as I said this is for big gate with two keys. For a front door it would be one normal key if anything went wrong. Added to that surely a family friend of neighbor would have a spare copy incase you did not have any on you.

here's to the future....

[plonk420]

but i'd rather have one that sighed contentedly or made the Star Trek Sound®

Re:Blue cross, blue shield.

[stevejsmith]

So the answer to the original question is, "Everyone!"