ASSA ABLOY Launches Ecosystem for Replacing Keys with Mobile Phones

ASSA ABLOY launches Seos, the world’s first commercial ecosystem for digital keys on NFC mobile phones. Seos makes it possible to open a door by passing a mobile phone over the lock.

ASSA ABLOY Seos is the world’s first commercial ecosystem for issuing, delivering and revoking digital keys on mobile phones with NFC technology. With Seos, mobile phones can replace mechanical keys and access cards and open doors to homes, hotels, offices, hospitals, universities, industries and commercial buildings. The Seos logotype on locks, mobile applications, access cards and web sites indicates compliance and interoperability with the Seos mobile ecosystem.

“We have done numerous trials in different environments and the feedback we get from security professionals as well as from end users is that they really want to open all doors with their mobile phones and stop using keys and access cards. This is a possibility, since basically any kind of door can be equipped with a Seos-enabled lock,” said Daniel Berg, vice president ASSA ABLOY Mobile Keys.

With Seos, home owners can send temporary digital keys to visitors, handymen and babysitters from their own mobile phones. Issued keys can be revoked through the same interface. Home owners no longer have to lend out physical keys and worry about them being lost or copied.

Hotel guests can check in and out with their mobile phones and receive digital hotel room keys before arriving at the hotel. Lines of guests waiting at reception will be a thing of the past and hotel staff can spend more time improving service levels in other ways.

In offices and commercial buildings, access to rooms and cabinets can be managed centrally. Security staff can send temporary digital keys to visitors and service staff wirelessly without having to manage physical keys and access cards. For even higher security, Seos digital keys can be protected by mobile phone PIN codes.

“Experts from the ASSA ABLOY Group have joined forces to create Seos. The development team has worked with secure identity and access control experts at HID Global, lock developers at Sargent, Corbin Russwin and Yale, and with hospitality professionals at VingCard Elsafe. As a result Seos can be adapted to different end user needs and local standards. With Seos, ASSA ABLOY can offer the most flexible infrastructure for digital keys on the market today,” said Berg.

Seos is based on open standards and works with all standards-compliant NFC mobile phones. The Seos digital keys are delivered with end-to-end encryption and stored securely on SIM cards, embedded secure elements or Micro SD memory cards. Multiple Seos digital keys for a variety of different locks can be stored on a single mobile phone and remain active even if the phone is turned off or out of battery power.

Seos digital keys will also work with solutions based on the iCLASS SE access control platform from HID Global, an ASSA ABLOY Group brand. The highly adaptable and secure iCLASS SE platform delivers improved security, privacy and portability and includes iCLASS SE readers and iCLASS Seos cards that are interoperable with commercial and residential locks, as well as NFC-enabled smartphones and other devices carrying Seos digital keys. The iCLASS Seos card has been selected by the ASIS International organization as a winner of the 2012 ASIS Accolades – Security’s Best competition, which recognizes the industry’s most innovative new technologies, products and services.