Re:Ask HN: What do you wish someone would build?
by alex5092 on Saturday September 24, 2016 @05:34PM
(#12572754)
The cell phone + supra lockbox approach could work. One would need to be a realtor though. Supra only sells through realtor associations.
Thanks for the info regarding the components.
I wonder if there'd actually be a market for this kind of thing.. i.e. One person unlocking access to physical keys in a lockbox at a remote location so that another person can gain access to something. It would be used in a temporary installation, not like ring.com installed at a front door of a house or remote access tech built into cars these days.
Another case of technology in search of a problem... :-(
Re:Ask HN: What do you wish someone would build?
by pseudozach on Monday October 03, 2016 @05:25AM
(#12626177)
We actually built something like this but for bikes. http://lockandgo.bike/index_en.html, it has data connection for remote lock/unlock and even gps to get the position. There was no market. We could pivot to this easily...
I make prototypes of stuff like this as a hobby. You could use a fairly inexpensive SoC that has Wifi/Bluetooth built in ($6), attach a module for 4G connection (~$50), and give it a huge battery so that it can lasts a few weeks. It would be asleep most of the time, and wake up every 2 minutes or so to check for updates. Meaning you'd have to stand there at the door for a couple minutes before it'd give you access.