David Savastano, Editor04.01.20
Smart devices are quickly becoming fixtures in homes. There are thermostats, security systems and even lights that can be controlled remotely, to name just a few items. With its Shepherd Lock, which just received a 2020 CES Innovation Award, PassiveBolt is looking to offer the same functionality for the front door.
The idea is similar to that of certain luxury cars today. The driver has a key fob in their possession and can touch the front door of their vehicle to unlock it. It is not surprising that PassiveBolt uses similar technology, as the company came out of Continental, a leading Tier 1 automotive supplier, in 2018.
“PassiveBolt started out as a project within Continental, where my core team designed automotive keyless entry technologies that allow you to lock or unlock your vehicle with a single touch on the door handle as long as you have your key fob on you,” PassiveBolt CEO Kabir Maiga noted. “The feedback we kept getting from consumers was that they wanted that same convenience with their front door.
“Typically, when you get to your front door, you’re digging for your keys,” Maiga added. “We set out to extend that convenience from the vehicle to the front door. In the process, something that started off as a project in Continental became the basis for PassiveBolt, which was spun off from Continental.”
Maiga noted that PassiveBolt’s mission is to help create a keyless society, transforming the process of getting in and out of a secure place into a seamless, passive and frictionless experience. Shepherd Lock, the first product from PassiveBolt, is designed for the home.
“Our first step in the journey is going to be the home,” Maiga noted. “We are basically taking that automotive feature to the home.”
There is more to Shepherd Lock than just locking the door. The smart lock offers security aspects, ease of use and an app for monitoring the lock.
“We are bringing in a few firsts. The first is the ability to detect when someone is tampering with a lock, turning what has traditionally been a passive device into an active monitoring device,” Maiga said. “We monitor the door 24/7 using a combination of AI and sensors to detect if someone is trying to break in or pick the lock. If so, we will notify the homeowner immediately and can also freeze the deadbolt into the locked position. We are also the first company that has figured out how to detect if the lock is open or closed without adding additional hardware; it is all built into our product and offers higher accuracy.”
“There are three key benefits of the Shepherd Lock keyless entry system,” added Maiga. “First, it improves security. Shepherd Lock monitors your door to prevent unwanted access, will notify you if there is an attempt and will freeze the deadbolt. The second thing is that it is easy to operate. It is touch-activated using fingerprint technology as long as you have the key fob on you. Also, our mobile app lets you track who has come in and out of your home, can provide temporary access to workers and then will lock it afterward.”
Shepherd Lock’s engineering emphasizes simplicity. Shepherd Lock is added on to the existing lock-set, converting it into a touch-activated device and allowing homeowners to keep their existing lockset and keys.
“One of the things that make us different is how we have engineered the product,” Maiga observed. “It was all about simplicity. It is really easy to install. Our patent-pending technology allows you to take two screws out of your door and you can install the Shepherd Lock with those two screws. There is no wiring. There is auto-calibration and you are good to go.
Meanwhile, both the cover and the inner workings, including the mechatronics and LEDs, are produced using TactoTek’s screen printed IMSE (in-mold structural electronics).
“We are the first product to allow you to lock or unlock your door with a touch. We are a B2B company, and if you want to be able to customize the faceplate, you have to be able to separate the aesthetics from the electronics. By making our cover removable, we allow our B2B partners to customize the cover while we maintain the mechatronic unit and achieve economies of scale.
“Since we needed some level of electronics, including the LED feedback, the solution was to make the unit part of the plastic,” he noted. “IMSE seems to the right solution for that. When the cover is removed, the in-molded unit looks like part of the aesthetic piece, and it also gives you access to the batteries without needing a screwdriver., IMSE does support touch technology, We were able to embed a sensor and support LED technology. It also is scalable. It is just a fantastic way to go.”
Size is one of the major differences between a car door and a front door, and it proved to be one of the challenges PassiveBolt solved.
“One of the key innovations, and also one of the most challenging, was needing to design a method within such a small footprint to be able to detect a virtual key and restrict that key to be in a certain geometric location,” Maiga said. “In a vehicle, when you touch the door handle, the vehicle is big enough that you can have multiple antennas several feet apart and triangulate the location of the key. With a lock, you don’t have that footprint. Microlocating the virtual key was challenging and we are very proud of our team.”
With all of these advances, it is easy to see why Shepherd Lock received the prestigious CES Innovation Award in the Smart Home Category, and Maiga noted that the company is looking forward to shipping its new locks in the first quarter of 2020.
“We are very thrilled to receive the CES Innovation Award,” Maiga said. “We see it as a recognition of the hard work and the dedication of our team. We have a community of people who are ready and eager for shipments of Shepherd Lock, and we have several pre-orders in the tens of thousands. We are looking to launch in the US and Canada in March 2020. This is available on ShepherdLock.com and Amazon.com. We are very thrilled about this first product to go to market and look forward to forging more partnerships.”
