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A comment on Hardware Case Study: Why Lockitron Has Taken So Long To Ship.

Re:Hardware Case Study: Why Lockitron Has Taken So Long To Ship by mikehmayer on Sunday July 13, 2014 @08:04PM (#8029002)
I had a Lockitron and I had to send it back. I rather enjoyed the idea and I truly believed they would eventually arrive at the right combination of firmware and software that would allow it to behave the way it was intended.

After owning it for nearly a year and having it only work reliably probably 20% of the time I had one galvanizing experience with it that made me arrive at the realization that it is fundamentally flawed.

It is a motorized lock connected to WiFi with a back up of a standard key lock. As it turns out, if the Lockitron runs out of battery mid way through actuating the lock it will freeze the lock in that position. No amount of manual force though just the key backup will work.

I spent several hours locked out of my apartment one night requiring emergency service from my complex management and asking a guy to wake up my neighbor so they could climb a ladder and break into my apartment via my balcony.

Cameron and the Lockitron staff I interacted with was very good and understanding at all times- but I just could not trust the Lockitron any more. Since it was a battery hog and the battery dying midst turn is a critical problem and there was no notification whatsoever of the battery condition (at the time) AND I couldn't use the manual back up, I had to return it.

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Re:Hardware Case Study: Why Lockitron Has Taken So Long To Ship by noonespecial on Sunday July 13, 2014 @10:06PM (#8029269)
I have a kwikset keypad battery deadbolt and this situation worried me so much I pulled the battery mid-turn to test it. No problem. I was so impressed I opened it up to see how they did it. It's so stupid simple I should have just thought of it. Obvious things in hindsight.
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Re:Hardware Case Study: Why Lockitron Has Taken So Long To Ship by matznerd on Monday July 14, 2014 @01:29AM (#8029609)
Why do you obscure what technique they used?
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Re:Hardware Case Study: Why Lockitron Has Taken So Long To Ship by noonespecial on Monday July 14, 2014 @02:21AM (#8029705)
Didn't mean too. Its a small springloaded clutch about the circumference of an old American half-dollar coin. Its got a detent in it that allows the motor to "pick up" the bolt wherever it may be in the lock cycle as it goes by but isn't so stiff that it can't be defeated with the key.

If you're into RC is looks a lot like a "servo-saver".

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Re:Hardware Case Study: Why Lockitron Has Taken So Long To Ship by bravo22 on Sunday July 13, 2014 @10:08PM (#8029271)
They use a one way clutch if I recall correctly.
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Re:Hardware Case Study: Why Lockitron Has Taken So Long To Ship by andrewtbham on Sunday July 13, 2014 @08:21PM (#8029045)
one possible way to solve this problem is to not initiate turning the lock if the battery is too low.
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Re:Hardware Case Study: Why Lockitron Has Taken So Long To Ship by StavrosK on Sunday July 13, 2014 @10:44PM (#8029340)
You'd think they'd be doing that already, really.
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Re:Hardware Case Study: Why Lockitron Has Taken So Long To Ship by mikehmayer on Monday July 14, 2014 @01:21AM (#8029602)
Cameron did note how he was surprised the Lockitron worked that morning. Apparently they had some insight about the battery level that was not being relayed to me. I think they've since rectified that with a push notification- I never saw anything like that though.
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Re:Hardware Case Study: Why Lockitron Has Taken So Long To Ship by raverbashing on Monday July 14, 2014 @11:09AM (#8031255)
This is not acceptable for something as critical as your front door.

You also usually can't tell exactly if the battery is too low for it to turn

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Re:Hardware Case Study: Why Lockitron Has Taken So Long To Ship by mikeash on Sunday July 13, 2014 @10:27PM (#8029308)
Which component freezes in position halfway through, the lock itself or the Lockitron?
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Re:Hardware Case Study: Why Lockitron Has Taken So Long To Ship by mikehmayer on Monday July 14, 2014 @01:20AM (#8029596)
The lock was fine. The Lockitron's motor apparently would not pass a certain amount of rotation if the batteries died mid-rotation and no amount of force I could exert would open the door. I bent the key pretty good and I had to stop as soon as I noticed that happening.
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Re:Hardware Case Study: Why Lockitron Has Taken So Long To Ship by mikeash on Monday July 14, 2014 @11:48AM (#8031453)
I was thinking that the "manual override" feature of the lock was simply a matter of being able to overpower the powered-off motor by hand. I gather from the other comments that it's actually going through some fairly steep reduction gearing that you can't overpower, and that the gearing is just disengaged from the lock mechanism when not in use. Is that about right?
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