Where to buy NFC enabled locks?
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The one I am designing uses electric strikes which are relatively cheap and allow you to keep the original hardware on the door (keys still work).[/quote:15chce0r]
Looks good! -
I have a strike lock on one of my inside doors, it performs relatively well but I dunno
a) What the power requirements are like compared to the conventional locks (not sure what they are called)? mortis maybe?
b) What insurance companies think about them.What happens if power is removed from your system? Is the user still able to get out? I assume as there is some manual yale style handle on the inside that can be used?
You could almost fit a nano in the strike system btw, that'd be neat, then it's just an issue of providing power, my thought would be to use a smaller battery but use solar charging to keep it charged, not sure how feasible this is though!
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btw you could reduce the size of your system by using a simple setup like mine..
Arduino Nano
Elechouse PN532
Relay..I should really get pics of one of my units that I'm prototyping, I'm sure from above though anyone could figure out the schematic and how it can be made smaller :)
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Correct, the electric strike goes inside the doorframe itself. nothing about the existing door handle/locking mechanisms changes. When you use the electric strike you simply push the door open without having to turn the door knob/handle. The electric-strike itself is fail-secure meaning if it loses power it is not going to unlock. However, since you still have the original hardware in the door you can still unlock and open from the outside with a key or open the door from the inside with no problem.
I can't really speak for insurance companies.Sticking a nano in there is an interesting idea. For my project, I want it somewhere I can get easy access in case I want to modify code or anything, also I plan on running multiple locks off one unit at some point, so a central location works better.
I had same idea for battery and solar, doubt one small enough to fit in the strike housing would be powerful enough. I still need to do testing. The strikes require 12v. Not sure how much current (is that the right word? I'm a programmer, not an EE) they draw. -
- Nano provides mini USB so it might be ideal
- Yea current is the right word, yea I can imagine it's a fair amount but worth investigating :)
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I used to use Nanos in everything but I've taken a liking to the microduino, the form factor is tiny especially if you sacrifice the usb portion of the thing.
Strike plates shouldn't take too much current, it's just releasing a catch that holds the back of the strike in place, everything else is mechanical movement from when you push the door open.
Pics please John :-) -
@gth
Sorry, didn't see your post earlier. Don't want to quote your entire post, but i think you will follow.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003E2D59O/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1Yes, the door to my entryway only has the handle lock, so just the strike for that one. My main door has the lock on the handle and a deadbolt, so would need the lockitron and a strike for it.
So my entryway door has a metal frame. Those frames are set up perfectly for electric strikes. Wood frame doors however would require quite a bit of modification which is the case on my main door. Since I am renting, I will not be modifying that door frame :P
Electric strikes are pretty simple, and I feel like one could be designed to drop into a wooden doorframe without modification, unfortunately such a thing just does not exist.I am somewhat considering designing lockitron type setup for the main door handle, I think the handle I have would be a good candidate for it. But that is wayyyyy down the road, I have too many other projects/hobbies that take precedence.
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Yes, the door to my entryway only has the handle lock, so just the strike for that one. My main door has the lock on the handle and a deadbolt, so would need the lockitron and a strike for it.
Why Lockitron, mate? Are you going to bluetooth activate it from the strikeplate arduino setup? Just, I thought they were bluetooth only, no NFC.
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Keep in mind, this is a rental, so keeping all original hardware with no modification would be best route for me. However, my landlord is in IT and we are on decent enough terms that he probably wouldn't have a problem with me replacing the deadbolt and handle so long as the door itself isn't modified.
I would likely hook the arduino with ncf reader up to my network and have it control the lockitron over it's wifi connection.
If you have other ideas to keep the original hardware on the door, I would be more than open to them.I haven't done much research, any suggestions on solutions that could replace the hardware (pic below). Ideally, it would still be able to use a key for entrance and I would definitely want to replace both the deadbolt and handle.
[url:1wrokkii]https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5f9BUaIGPfgYUdvUEd6ZjZoekE/edit?usp=sharing[/url:1wrokkii] -
Aah, ok, I hadn't realised they use wifi (just checked the Lockitron site again). That's a bit more useful than a bluetooth only connection.
It's a difficult one, I rent too but it's a house so I'm pretty right with simply replacing the deadlatch while I'm living there. -
The Kwikset with this "homeconnect" would probably be a good option. They come with zigbee/zwave, so theoretically I could integrate them and my nfc reader with the almond+ I backed on kickstarter.... if it ever ships :P
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lol. I love KickStarter.
Yeah, that looks pretty cool. I had to look up kwikset, because Australian.
The almond+ looks very colourful and interesting.
Watch how many methods of entry you stack up, haha -
I meant to post a link, forgot.
http://www.kwikset.com/electronics/homeowners/availableproducts.aspxI think the way I would set it up would be to use both the deadbolt and the lever from quickset for my main door. Maybe disable the pin code entry somehow. On the entryway use an electric strike. Two Elechouse NFC modules, one outside the entryway and one outside the main door both hooked up to an arduino inside that has zwave or zigbee. Integrate them with the almond+, and stir in some of my mad programming skills to make them all play nicely.
I suppose while I am at it, I should put my second strike on the back door to the entry way that I use when I go running. No more carrying a set of keys on my run! -
No more keys is what I'm aiming at too.
Oh, you run? We only do that in Australia when something is flooding, on fire or trying to bite us. ;-)
So is one of these a shared door with other tenants or something? If your landlord has multiple tenants then you could team up to promote the idea of keyless entry. -
I have a strike lock on one of my inside doors, it performs relatively well but I dunno [/quote:1m2ywons]
I have an alarm system that is battery-backed; it'd be easy to run a cable from there into the wall cavity near the striker plate (just follow the light switch run, really). I think I'd just steal power from the alarm box though, rather than trying to make the striker behave like some kind of alarm-sensor at this early stage. As much as I'd love to complicate the idea with wifi or PoE I think I'm just going to keep it really simple with just a programming mode up front and then stand-alone mode after that.
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Guys, this just made me think. If you could get a hold of an android phone that was used and had NFC, or a junked phone that could be setup with OTG and a USB NFC reader, it seems you could mount the phone next to the door on the inside, maybe near a light socket, then the reader could be opened to extend it's antenna. If you ad a doorbell,you could easily modify the top plate that came with the reader to fit behind your doorbell plate and wired through it's hole. If you do have a light switch even the res of the reader could be mounted behind the wall and could provide both with power. The cool thing is that with something like tasker and the phone, when you tapped your ring the app would send the command through your home network. to unlock the door, or lock if it's not already so. the phone itself could act as a screen at the door. Home page could have a time/temp widget and the tasker buttons to unlock/lock the door. A swipe one way could reveal a running grocery list, another swipe for to-do list. just got me thinking.
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Personally I see that as just about the most difficult way to do things, mostly because mobile phones don't enjoy being modified like that. I mean, it's doable, but your milage really is going to vary based on so many different things including how skilled you are with an iron and exactly how heavily you modify the phone.
By the time you're done it would perhaps have been easier to use one of the elechouse PN532 units with an arduino instead. -
I wasn't thinking of modifying the phone at all. just to use it as a go between for the lock and a US NFC reader running off the micro-USB OTG. The rest of my crazy was just mounting ideas.
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Ah, fair enough. I'm operating from the viewpoint that the NFC reader in the phone is far less sensitive than the $10 pn532 reader I got from ebay is all, so you'd have to do something to extend/retune/rematch the stock phone antenna and that's where you start running into expensive issues. You couldn't just use wires to extend the antenna for instance, you'd have to use coax. And then that changes all sorts of things in the circuitry for the reader, it just becomes a bit of a nightmare to do properly.
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I was thinking it would be hard to find an old phone that had NFC. I figured that one could use a USB reader and make sure the phone has OTG capabilities to host it. Then you have some distance with the USB. As far as placement and asthetics. There are a few kinds of readers. Some relatively slim, square ines, and even some USB flash drive sized ones. Could make for easy hidden placement like alongside a doorbell. I have been researching this on and off for years. And my goals have been like have been mentioned.
But with ease of use, implementation into existing system, and especially cost of great importance. I have come up with a couple ideas. I like this one because the android device, even a tablet of any size could also double as an info device. With many inexpensive ones out there, and even people having extra ones. besides the above uses, imagine that it could also act as a front door camera with an inexpensive wifi or even bluetooth cam. Free if yo0u had just about any old android cellphone to secure outside.
A crafth person might be able to put the camera, reader and doorbell in a case that looks like it belongs, and run the wiring through the bell wire hole. :idea:
I wouldn't say I'm cheap. just not rich and thrifty. They say necessity is the mother of invention? It's stepfather is a lack of funds. :D
