At the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, technology companies
from around the world gathered to demonstrate the newest
products and concepts that they hope will become the next big
thing on the market. Products ranged from high-definition
televisions to deafening sound systems to the latest in
computer microprocessors. But among the companies you'd
expect to find at an electronics show, there were a couple
that might have surprised you.
Think of all the things in your life that fit into the
category of high-tech. There's a good chance the lock on your
front door isn't among them. At least one company hopes to
change that with a new lock system that brings the simple
mechanism of the door lock into the 21st century. That
company is Schlage and the system is the Schlage LiNK.
The Schlage LiNK system's basic components are an electronic
locking system, a wireless control unit called a Bridge and
some proprietary software you install on your computers or
Web-enabled cell phones. You'll need a high-speed Internet
connection as well. Why do you need such a high-tech setup?
It's because the Schlage LiNK lets you control your home's
locks remotely.
The locking mechanism for the LiNK looks a lot like other
electronic lock systems. It's an electronic bolt lock paired
with a standard keypad with numbers ranging from 0 to 9.
Owners can create multiple four-digit codes to lock and
unlock the doors. There are dozens of different electronic
locking mechanisms on the market already.
The LiNK system relies on a wireless technology that Schlage
calls Z-Wave. Z-Wave is a narrow band of low-powered radio
frequencies that the LiNK system uses to relay information
and commands. These commands include the ability to lock and
unlock the door using a device like a laptop or cell phone.
There's no need to make extra keys or hide a spare under the
welcome mat -- in fact, you can unlock your door without ever
calling a locksmith.
Schlage's software lets you do more than just lock and unlock
your doors. It also lets you set multiple codes and then keep
track of when those codes are used. First, instead of giving
each family member a key, you assign them a personal code.
The Schlage software keeps a 90-day log of every code used to
unlock the door.
Parents might find this option particularly useful. Imagine
you're the parent of a teenage boy. He claims he got home at
the agreed-upon hour of 9 p.m. You can pull up your LiNK
software program and check the records to see if he's fibbing.
All you have to do is look for his code and the time stamp
for when it was used that night. Or you can set your system
so that it sends you a text message whenever someone uses
a specific code to get into the house.
The LiNK system isn't limited to networking locks.
You can also purchase other Z-wave devices such as modules
for lights, thermostats, window shade controls and video
cameras. These modules can receive commands from the Bridge.
That means that with the right equipment, you can control
everything from your house's temperature to its lighting
from the other side of the world.
If you connect a camera to a Z-wave module, you can look at
a live video feed. Mounting a camera outside your front door
allows you to see who is there at any time of the day.
This can come in handy if you want to let someone in but
don't want to go through the trouble of giving that person
a temporary code. You can have the person call you when he
or she arrives at your house. Then you can use the camera
to verify the person's identity before you unlock the door.
You can also set the video camera to record footage
-- potentially useful if someone is trying to break into your
home.
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