EDIT Interview psi may22_PSI_mar15 25/04/2022 19:17 Page 2
INTERVIEW
A smarter approach to keys This month we spoke to Simon Wilson, Business Development Manager CLIQ® and Henrik Degn, Business Development Manager PULSE® of Assa Abloy Opening Solutions EMEIA about the technology and benefits of using smart keys for installers and their customers onsidering that one of the major trends we have heard widely predicted since the Covid-19 pandemic began is that access control will go contactless and smartphones will be the keys of the future, why are the vast majority of us still using traditional keys for our own properties? This was a question we decided to broach with Simon Wilson and Henrik Degn who are the people behind Assa Abloy’s smart digital key-based access solutions CLIQ and PULSE.
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After lockdown we heard that access control will go contactless, so why have we got CLIQ and PULSE? SW: The physical key has been in use for thousands of years and I strongly believe it will continue to be used in the future because it is human nature when it comes to security to want to feel something physical and to have that physical connection to open a door. In many projects we see a transformation from mechanical towards electronic locking as customers want to benefit from flexible access
management. Smart key-based access control solutions can help companies to offer a safer work environment with flexible access management using a known technology. You could say that the engineering of security hardware hasn't quite matched the speed of innovation we've seen for mobile phones. However for me, holding a physical key can give you a connection and more of a comforting sense of security. For years, we have keys on homes, suitcases, lockers, safes etc and the key itself is built into our mind as an element of security and safety. Perhaps there could be still more of a level of trust for the reliability of a lock which opens and closes using a key over one that uses another method. Keys and cylinders are simple solutions, how easy is it to set up smart keys? HD: To be honest, it’s just plug and play. The installation of PULSE energy-harvesting cylinders itself is very simple as no drilling or cabling is needed. The programmable smart key generates the energy for data transfer via Simon Wilson and Henrik Degn talking to PSI in April22
“Smart key-based access control solutions can help companies to offer a safer work environment with flexible access management using a known technology” www.psimagazine.co.uk
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