by Brianna Crandall — April 8, 2016—iLOQ, a Finnish company that transforms mechanical locking into digital access management, recently launched what the company calls the “world’s first” NFC-powered lock at CeBIT 2016. iLOQ says it is the first smart lock that harvests electricity from a smartphone. The ground-breaking technology enables users to start using their phone as a key without batteries or cables in the smart lock of their door, setting a new standard for smart locks.
iLOQ smart NFC-powered lock harvests electricity from an authorized smartphone used for access
iLOQ points out the “indisputable” benefits of mobile smart locks: creating, sharing and revoking access with a phone as a key, embodying the future of access control for companies, homes and all types of buildings. The problem is that every smart lock currently on the market needs to be powered by batteries or a cable power supply, points out the company.
Avoiding costly regular battery renewal process or expensive wiring, the iLOQ smart lock with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology offers a smart solution where there is a need for high security and real-time access management of locks and users.
Phone is key, power source and gateway to real-time access management
iLOQ NFC smart lock harvests electricity from the phone’s NFC induction. The smartphone works not only as a key but also as a power source for the lock. The invention is based on iLOQ’s deep experience in self-powered smart locks; in 2007 iLOQ introduced what it calls the world’s first smart lock that needs no batteries or cables because it powers itself by harvesting electricity from key insertion.
“Now we have combined our expertise in minimum energy smart locks and smartphone’s ability to give energy through the NFC induction. Opening the lock works by touching the door knob with a phone that has access rights to it,” says iLOQ CEO and founder Mika Pukari.
The iLOQ NFC is said to be so small it fits almost any kind of lock cylinders, padlocks or cabinet locks, making it easy to install by replacing the existing lock without extra installation work to the door. Real-time access right management is handled by the iLOQ Manager cloud service.
The first iLOQ NFC products are available for customers in the fourth quarter of 2016.
iLOQ offers a video explaining how the the iLOQ NFC works and offers more information on the product Web page.
