Lock manufacturer Latch and Comelit, an Italian company that produces intercoms, have announced a partnership to create smart intercoms designed to make building access and deliveries easier in today's ecommerce era. The new system will allow building owners and residents to grant access to their building to guests, package delivery people, dog walkers, and others.
When a person without security access comes to the building, he or she calls the desired apartment unit on the intercom entry panel (shown below). The system will then send an alert to the resident's smartphone through the Latch app and to the hard-wired Comelit intercom inside the unit. The resident can then see the person requesting access to the building or unit and let the individual in through the app remotely.
Delivery personnel can automatically deliver packages to the front desk or package room inside the building but are not granted automatic access to a unit. Residents can, however, let someone like a dog walker directly into their apartment through the system.
The smart intercom system aims to take the complication out of building access and ease the job of property managers and staff.
"It's a game changer for property managers and on-site team members," says Brian Ramirez, senior property manager at the Corgin Real Estate Group. "They're allowed to take a step back when it comes to controlling access into the building and give that authority to whom it belongs—the residents."
Corgin installed Latch's automated smart locks across its New York City properties last year, an addition that has become a popular feature among residents, who now have the ability to unlock and monitor their door from their phones, a key card, or the touchscreen keypad on the lock.
"Before we installed Latch door locks, our property managers spent significant time monitoring and providing access to contractors, managing packages, and changing and maintaining locks," says Ramirez. "[Now], packages are automatically delivered safely inside the building, and with Latch’s visual audit trail, we have a full record of who enters and exits the property, minimizing the risk of lost or stolen packages, especially in non-doorman buildings."
"Now that we spend less time on access management, our team can spend [more] time creating activities for our residents," Ramirez adds.
Latch says the intercom system will be available in 2018.