Use a Smartphone As Your Front Door Key

Is your smartphone smart enough to open the front door of your house? Smartphones by themselves are very dumb, it's the apps and imbedded software that gives the smartphone its smarts.
Think about yours, you open some type of app to do most anything.
Once the app is open and running the real action takes place.
To open your front door with your phone your need two things:

1. Both of the locks on your front door, you do have a deadbolt and doorknob lock don't you, must be electronic.
   They will usually communicate via Bluetooth.
   
2. The correct app on your phone that will be able to communicate with the front door.
   The app and phone will authenticate that you are the authorized person to have access.
   On newer smartphones this can be done with the fingerprint reader.
   

Once you have the above two items then it will work very similar to the way newer automobiles work with Bluetooth communication.
As you get within range on the door the phone and the door will communicate the authentication will take place and the door locks will unlock.
The door will be ready for you to turn the knob or lever to enter.
The electronic door lock will record the date, time and who made this entry.
On some models the locks will relock when they sense the door is closed.
As complicated as this may sound, there could be so much more that could be done.
Image if the Bluetooth lock communicated with the Wi-Fi in your home, a new world of opportunities will open.
For example:

• Everything could be integrated into a home automation system.
  
• You could program the system to turn up the air conditioning, turn on the lights and if its dark turn on outside lights.
  
• This could be timed so that when your 3 miles from your house the air conditioning or heating will be adjusted.
  
• If you have a garage it could open when you are with 50 yards of your house.
  
• Then when it senses that your vehicle in completely inside the garage it will close the garage door and unlock the door locks.
  
• Provide a complete access control system for your home.
  

These are only a few examples the possibilities are endless and all you did was have your locks communicate with your door locks.
So using your smartphone as your front door key is not only possible, it is just the beginning.