Moscow Polytech's students are developing the “Smart Lock” system with the NFC-Technology – a door with such a device that opens the doors using a smartphone touch. Owners of hotels, landlords and office directors already became interested in the development.
“NFCKEY” is a “smart lock” with an innovative approach, which works contactless: when you put the phone to the lock, the door opens. The project team includes eight young scientists. The idea of the creation of an exclusive device belongs to Ivan Menyaylov, Project Head, the student of the 4th year of the IT Faculty at Moscow Polytech.
“The idea appeared already at the 1st year of my study. I was on vocation with my family, and at the hotel there were only chip-keys. One day, we split up, but we had only two cards, and I had to wait for several hours. Then, on the 3rd year I found myself at the ALL-Russian competition of young entrepreneurs “I am in Business”, where there was a huge number of experts and people having experience in business. It was from them that we received positive feedback on our concept. We conducted CustDev among travelers, hotel managers and proprietors, and 80% of them evaluated positively the idea, and many of them were even unaware of such locks and analogues. We literally opened up a new world to them,” noted Ivan Menyaylov.
The “NFCKEY” Project has been running since Spring 2023. During this period, students have created a ready-made prototype of the lock, NFC-enabled Android and iOS app, the server API, and entered into partnership with companies from Kazakhstan and UAE for the purchase of 2000 locks for 30 million rubles. The students also promote the development – they write about their developments on VC and Habr services.
“I must admit that before I have never associated NFC with anything other functionality than payments. Now, I see its potential on opening door locks and additional functions that are built around this: unlimited number of keys, access transfer from anywhere in the world, extended features of convenience and safety,” - shared a web-developer of “NFCKEY” Project and a 4th year student of the Faculty of Information Technology at Moscow Polytech Alexander Kovshyk.
The NFC-Technology locks may be used both for hotel room’s doors, apartments for rent and in offices, and in houses. The next step of the “NFCKEY” Project will be the development of its own microcontroller, which will allow completing the development of the lock and enter the market. In addition, the students plan to patent their idea.
