CrowdSpirit

Remote Lock Monitor

posted by Brainwave on 29 October 2007 20:46 Go to the market place Go to forum

Problem context :

As a home owner, it's easy to forget to check ALL the locks and go to bed with a door unsecured, particulary basement doors (and windows) which rarely get checked. Common sense dictates that you go around your house every night to make sure the house is locked down, but it doesn't always happen.  And the first thing burglers check for is unlocked doors and windows - we often make it too easy for them to break in by litterally leaving the door open for them.

Proposed Solution :

What we need is a remote monitoing device, or special lock that would let me a home owner know when a door is, in fact, unlocked. I imagine it could be done via RFID, wi-fi, or some other, compact, radio-like device that could be installed between the deadbolt and the door.  On the other end would be a simple receiver that shows red when a lock is open, and green if it's securely locked down.

While the residential market could be big, there are tons of commercial applications that may benefit even more from this device. Hotels could install them as a feature to give guests peace of mind that their things are safe in their rooms when they step away. Schools could use them to monitor side and back doors that hoodlums may be using to sneak in our out of the schoolhouse. Factories could use them to keep an eye on back doors to minimize stock shrinkage. The key would be for the monitoring device to be small, cheap and easy to install.

The technology is out there to be able to build this solution, and with some creative development, it could be done cheaply.