Your hand is the key you never lose!
I had this idea a long time ago, a door that opens when you touch it. it scans your hand for matching fingerprints. It’s very secure and concenient. no more keys!
the reason I decided to write about this concept was all those smartphone paired locks.Natural interfaces come with no extra. A fingerprint door lock does not need any key or phone. just bring your hands :)
In the picture above, the large area on the door can be touched. touch sensor wakes up fingerprint scanner. It scans your hand and door opens.there is no door handle. just touch and push the door.
Commercial fingerprint scanners are usually small and expensive. Having a sensor this big should be very expensive.
What if I add a door handle and integrate the fingerprint scanner into it? that would be easier to install and cheaper to make. This one is technically a bit closer to reality.
How does it work though?
the door handle version is really simple. it works like a conventional scanner. a laser beam moves accross the handle to scan your palm/fingers. reflection of the laser beam bounces back to a image sensor via a mirror.
It all happens in less than a second.when you touch the handle, scanner wakes up and moves accross the handle (don’t mind my drawing skills. imagine an even width handle). It sends data for comparison during the scan. when a match found, it stops the scan and unlocks the door.
Why bother?
Security
Your hand is the most secure key of all time. you never lose it. You can control door access securly. You can see a log of who came in. there is no easy way of forging someone else’s hand. if your prints are logged, you did unlock the door.
Convenience
You don’t have to think about it. just grab the handle and open the door. Users don’t need any training. Anyone 2+ age knows how to open a door. Just ask them to touch the handle for initial scan. From that point forward you can control their access to your door.
Energy Saving and Automation
This is a smart door. it can identify individuals coming though.With an API you can do all sort of cool stuff. Like Saving energy by turning air condition off, etc. Because it knows who came in, it can be used for automation as well. For instance, with a bit of extra hardware in the house, I can define turn TV ON when I arrive. when combine it with a home automation, possibilities are endless.
Best interface design is the one you don’t have to think about. It’s natural.
UPDATE: I’m glad someone build the door handle concept. you can find it here