Smartphone Access Control

Using Bluetooth technology for door entry and access control systems is increasing in popularity as smartphones have become more widespread.

Essentially, your smartphone replaces a card or fob, it communicates with the door entry reader and, via Bluetooth technology, the access credentials are wirelessly transmitted.

An app on your smartphone conveys the security ‘key’ and if your credentials are verified then the door or gate will release thereby permitting entry.

With Optima’s ONE Blue module, you benefit from the flexibility of using virtual badges on smartphones thanks to native integration with the STid Mobile ID® solution.

A virtual badge is created in Almas’ Optima software with the ONE Blue module and the access rights are set up.

There are several types of activation functions which are configurable. These transmit the access credentials to the smart lock receiver and include: Tap Tap, slide or handsfree:

Handsfree: Bluetooth authentication can be set-up as ‘always on’ on your smart phone; by pressing the access reader calls for an identity verification command but this will drain more battery than an authentication action such as Tap Tap or Slide, which prompts the credentials to be transmitted.

StiD readers utilise BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) which is also known as Bluetooth 4.0. Essentially, compared to standard Bluetooth, the main difference is in BLE’s low power consumption.

In Access Control applications, the benefit of BLE is that it significantly decreases battery usage in the users’ smartphones. It could also lend itself to possibilities for battery-operated access readers in certain circumstances.

BLE Bluetooth remains in a ‘sleep’ state until a connection is initiated. The connection time is around 100 times shorter than standard Bluetooth. These low-energy characteristics make Bluetooth access control readers increasingly popular.

We know you want a price, right here, right now! However, the cost of a working solution has to be quoted based on your site, where the readers will be placed, whether there is power, the number of readers, installation time and many more factors. To give you an accurate quote that we will stick to, we need to conduct a site survey. Go on, get in touch..

This is a bit of a grey area. The driving laws have been tightened up recently on the use of mobile phones while in the car to make the roads safer. Technically handling your phone at all in a vehicle is illegal and can result in prosecution.

However, there was a recent amendment in the law that we believe is a comparable situation. We are swiftly moving towards a cashless society and using your phone to make payment at a drive thru for example is not an endorsible offence. If you’d like to read more on what you can and can’t do with your phone while driving- here’s a great article from JMW law

If Bluetooth is continually on, then feasibly access could be granted by the phone being in its holder in the car in close enough proximity to the reader, but as we know, this drains your mobile battery.

We are going to seek further clarification on this subject..

They are the same thing. This system uses the Bluetooth technology in your mobile smart phone to communicate with the Bluetooth reader.