With the partnership between August and Walmart and Amazon’s new Amazon Key service, in-home delivery has become a trending topic in the smart home industry. Another company Latch jumped on the bandwagon recently.
Smart lock provider Latch has unveiled a partnership with security and intercom manufacturer Comelit, aiming to tackle in-home delivery issues in apartments and commercial buildings.
Many cities require intercoms and hardwired connection in individual apartments to ensure that front door access is possible for emergency services. This makes guest access using smart technologies a challenge since a mobile app doesn’t use hardwired connection.
Latch and Comelit therefore joined force and proposed a new system, under which non-residents are granted access to the apartment via the Latch app while Comelit intercom panel is hardwired into the building. The system is able to meet regulation requirements.
When a delivery person rings the bell of an apartment unit, an alert will be sent to the smartphone via Latch app and to the hardwired Comelit intercom panel inside the apartment. The homeowner will see the request for access and choose whether or not to grant access from either of the two devices.
When the system is implemented across individual apartments, common areas and exterior intercom systems, it could also save building management effort. Latch and Comelit plan to roll out the integrated system in 2018.
Latch already started its in-home delivery in New York City last month. By partnering with e-commerce platform Jet.com, Latch allows shoppers who own a Latch smart lock to receive merchandise while away from home. The start-up that was founded in 2014 has already installed 1,000 smart locks in New York.