Smart home has showed a great presence and promising future at IFA 2017 Berlin. As smart lock remains one of the most popular products in smart home market, Thomas Schulz, Director Marketing and Communications of Digital Access Solutions, ASSA ABLOY EMEA (showed as TS below) has exclusively
Smart home has showed a great presence and promising future at IFA 2017 Berlin. As smart lock remains one of the most popular products in smart home market, Thomas Schulz, Director Marketing and Communications of Digital Access Solutions, ASSA ABLOY EMEA (showed as TS below) has exclusively shared the latest security techniques of ASSA ABLOY with SMAhome magazine Chief Editor Veronica Chen (showed as VC below). Schulz also cited the unlimited applications of smart locks that bring a better life experience with peace of mind.
VC: In your communications, you often say, “A smart home starts with a smart door”. What does that mean in practice?
TS: We see the future of the home in terms of connected devices and connected domestic services. Does it make sense for all your smart home technology to be guarded by mechanical lock an Ancient Egyptian would recognize? Of course not. Our locks are built to secure your home. They can also integrate and update residential services in telecoms, utilities, home care and much more. The future is a smart ecosystem — and a smart door is the only logical entry point.
VC: Why did you attend IFA this year?
TS: We want everyone to see and experience the new Yale Smart Living range of locks, smart alarms and IP camera. The Yale brand has decades of customer recognition and loyalty behind it, but we do not rest on our illustrious history. ASSA ABLOY and its trusted brands such as Yale also have the largest, most advanced range of smart door locks on the market. Real connected living begins with a smart door lock, and we are always looking for potential partners who want to build residential services for the next decade and beyond.
VC: Among the products you exhibited, can you pick out a couple of highlights or notable successes during IFA?
TS: Our latest devices make it easy and secure to open and monitor your front door with a smartphone. For example, the ENTR® smart door lock enables users to access a home or office via app, keypad PIN, remote control or even fingerprint. At IFA we showcased the new ENTR® S, for Scandinavian doors. We also exhibited a lock that’s already a big hit in Scandinavia, the Yale Doorman.
VC: What integration possibilities do you see in smart door locks? And what have you achieved already?
TS: There are so many potential applications for locks beyond just home security. Residential service providers across Europe — property rental agencies, utilities, smart-home specialists, home care providers, telecoms companies and more — have already integrated smart door locks. In Sweden, some PostNord customers no longer wait home for a delivery: parcels are delivered inside their front door, if it is equipped with our Yale Doorman lock. In Turkey, 1,700 Yale smart door locks are installed at Future Park, a new apartment development designed around home automation. In Italy, Home at Hotel vacation rentals are secured with a Yale ENTR®, so guests can enjoy a holiday without key worries. There are many more, including exciting new partnerships coming soon. Our locks are built using open standards, so integration is easy, which makes modernising service delivery a real possibility for our partners.
VC: Who else among your integrators exhibited at IFA this year?
TS: We were delighted to see our partner Elgato showcase a new range of Apple HomeKit intelligent devices including a connected smart door lock from us. Fibaro and Innogy were also at IFA showcasing our ENTR® lock, and how it connects seamlessly with their systems.