Allison interviews Frank Polidoro from Lockly about their new smart safes with PIN Genie code access and their app-free digital locks that provide remote access control for buildings and rooms.
Frank showed Lockly’s Smart Safe, which is WiFi-enabled and can be opened via three secure methods: code entry, biometric fingerprint, or smartphone access. Lockly’s PIN Genie technology randomizes the location of digits on the keypad so code entry is not repeated from one unlock session to the next. This minimizes the chance that someone watching you unlock the safe from a distance could memorize the digit positions and use them later for unauthorized access.
Lockly’s Smart Safe comes in two sizes: one for storing smaller items such as jewelry or handguns and a somewhat larger size, on the order of a small file drawer, to store documents and other similarly-sized items.
Frank then showed Lockley’s app-free TapCom solution for remote control of building or room entry. Upon arriving at the locked entry door, the guest will see the TapCom card, which instructs the guest to tap their smartphone or scan the QR code on the card. Automatically, the TapCom web app will pop up on the guest’s smartphone – no app download is required. The TapCom app provides a two-way audio/video intercom with the building controller, who then unlocks the door to provide the guest access to the building. This is a good solution for building control with multi-family buildings, student housing, assisted living, or Airbnb/VRBO rentals.
Learn more at https://www.lockly.com/
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Transcript of Interview:
Allison: I like smart locks, and I like safes, and I saw both of them over here at the Lockly booth, so I’m talking to Frank Polidoro about what Lockly has to offer.
Frank: Okay. At Lockly, we’re also known as what’s called the PIN Genie. We have a patent on what’s called the PIN Genie hack-proof keypad. So if you look at our locks, you’ll notice that the keypads look a little bit different, right? On here, you’ll see there’s four circles, and within those circles, there’s three numbers. Every time you wake the lock up, those numbers change, so it’s impossible to copy that code.
Allison: Nobody can look at the fingerprint marks or whatever to see what you’ve done.
Frank: You can look at the fingerprint.
Allison: I have actually seen that type of technology on secure facilities working for the government. So this is high security.
Frank: Yeah, yeah. Exactly. And there’s an older company that used to do that years ago called Hirsch that had a scramble-proof keypad for government, okay?
Allison: That’s probably who we saw a long time ago.
Frank: That’s probably who you saw. Yep, yep.
Allison: So that’s on a smart lock on a front door.
Frank: On a front door. So what we did is we’ve taken that technology, we migrated that over to a safe. So now we have that same type of technology on a safe. So somebody can’t copy the code when they’re entering the code into the safe. So now the safe has the ability to have the PIN Genie keypad to get into it. If not, you could have fingerprint capability to get into it. You could use an app to get into it as well, okay? The other thing you could do, too is you could do things like enter in a duress code. So you could have one normal code that opens the safe. The duress code would send a notification to someone’s app.
Allison: So somebody’s got you at gunpoint trying to open it.
Frank: Yep. Same thing with the fingerprint. They could open it with a normal fingerprint. If I use this other finger, that would be the duress code.
Allison: Oh, wow.
Frank: Yep. So we have…
Allison: I’m thinking if they got a gun to my head, I’m giving them my stuff though, but..
Frank: Could be, could be. Yep.
Allison: Is this a fire safe?
Frank: No, this is not fire-rated, but it is we’ve rated it. It’s drop-proof. You know, we did drop testing with it, but there’s no fire rating on this particular safe. We do make two versions of this. This is our larger size. We do make, and it’s actually very popular, a smaller version, which is a good gun safe. And a lot of people mount those in cars. So that’s another safe that we do have, okay?
Allison: Okay. Now, now, what is this, just flat plate sitting on styrofoam?
Frank: Well, this is it’s our way of addressing app fatigue, right? Most people nowadays really are getting tired of having to download an app on their phone, right? Think about especially if you’re going to visit a building one time, right? You don’t want to go to that building, download the app, create the account from just going there once. What we did here is we developed an app-free environment. So you just touch your phone to that plaque, and if this plaque was at the front of a multi-family building, what I would now do is I hit this open button. I go to where communication…. This is not connected up, obviously, but I would go to this area here that says communication. There would be a directory of everybody that was in the building. So if I was here to see Stephen, I would click on Stephen. Stephen and I would have two-way communication through our phones, and then Stephen would say, “Okay, Frank, you’re right. I’ll let you in.” Hit the unlock button, and the door unlocks.
Allison: But you just opened an app when you did that.
Frank: It wasn’t an app. This is all done through a browser.
Allison: All right, so if I tap my phone …
Frank: Tap your phone.
Allison: Do I need to unlock it first? Okay, so I’m going to unlock my phone. I’m going to tap it here.
Frank: Here you go.
Allison: And it says open. Video on a there it goes. Going to open. Okay, that … So is that a is that a website? Am I in Safari? … It’s … What am I in? It’s No, that is I don’t know what it is, Steve. It looks like the Lockly logo and but it looks like an app, but I didn’t…
Frank: It is the app, exactly, but it’s not an app.
Allison: That’s really interesting.
Steve: Maybe it’s a web app maybe?
Frank: It’s more of a web app.
Allison: Oh, maybe it is. Yeah, yeah, it’s probably a saved to lock to home screen type app, but it made it automatically. Wow, that’s really slick. So this is for industrial use. I mean, you wouldn’t have this on your house.
Frank: No, no, no. So this … the applications are multi-family, obviously, student housing, assisted living, anywhere where there’s multiple people living in a building. And we do have another version, smaller version, that would be used for Airbnb or VRBO. So here it is mounted next to the lock.
Allison: So it looks like a credit card, basically.
Frank: Looks like a credit card. So if I was coming to that Airbnb, I would when I got to that Airbnb…
Allison: Wait, I like doing it.
Frank: Yeah, you do it.
Allison: All right, I’m going to do it. I’m going to tap here on this little credit card. It’s the same thing.
Frank: You know, it actually is going to be live. So you hit this com button.
Allison: com button.
Frank: All right.
Allison: And it goes through Cloudflare. Good. I like that. I’m going to verify I’m human.
Frank: Yep.
Allison: So yeah, it’s definitely it’s a web app, but that’s okay. Like to access the microphone. Oh, I’m going to say okay.
Frank: Yep, and the camera.
Allison: And the camera. Okay. And there it goes.
Frank: All right, now it’s really on Cindy’s phone.
Allison: So I’ve actually got my it’s got video of me and audio. And Cindy’s phone over there is lit up. I get the idea, but that so she’s going to say, “Okay, oh, Allison, you’re here.”
Frank: So she’ll answer it. Now you guys will have two-way communication. She says, “Oh, yeah, I know who you are.” Hit the unlock button, and that lets you in.
Allison: Okay.
Frank: And we’re able to tie that to any one of our locks. So we could take any one of our locks and turn it basically into a video intercom.
Allison: That is fascinating.
Frank: Without the need of an app.
Allison: That is fascinating. I really like this. So if people wanted to go find out about the Lockly products, where would they go?
Frank: Go to lockly.com.
Allison: So l o c k l y.com.
Frank: Correct.
Allison: Very good. Thank you so much, Frank. This is fantastic.
Frank: Okay.