Nuki Smart Locks could soon open front doors for parcel services in Germany
With access to electronic door locks, a first parcel service in Austria delivers to the hallway. A launch in Germany is possible this year.
If you allow the Nuki lock motor to do so, it lets parcel services into the hallway so that you don't miss a shipment.
(Image: Nuki / Österreichische Post)
With "In-Home Delivery", Austrian smart lock manufacturer Nuki wants to solve an annoying everyday problem when it comes to receiving parcels. The manufacturer's smart locks are designed to let parcel couriers into the home even when nobody is at home. If a delivery service can open the front door of a house or apartment electronically and leave the box behind, missed deliveries and extra trips to a collection point are no longer an issue.
Following initial tests in 2021, Austrian Post will be offering "front room delivery" as a regular delivery option from July. It has retrofitted the software on its delivery staff's handhelds so that they are compatible with Nuki's "In-Home Delivery" function. This allows them to open and lock the manufacturer's Bluetooth locks with the household's consent. This could soon work in Germany too. "The technology is ready and could be integrated into the infrastructure of logistics companies in Germany within three to six months," Nuki CEO Martin Pansy told heise online.
When the post office simply opens the door itself
For in-home delivery, the house and apartment door must be equipped with a radio motor from Nuki. It is placed over a key inserted into the door lock from the inside and then turns it in the desired direction. According to Pansy, all Nuki model generations are suitable for the delivery service. The current locking motors cost between 190 and 290 euros.
You also need Nuki's Bluetooth WLAN bridge (100 euros) or - if available - you can activate the locks' integrated WLAN. In addition to local radio, the lock motor must also be accessible via the Internet for the delivery service. The "In-Home Delivery" function runs via a web-based API from Nuki. A pure Bluetooth connection is not enough, unlike in normal everyday locking.
The Nuki app is used to authorize the delivery service to control the lock motor and open the door. To do this, you have to activate remote access in the software and bring the hardware online. The delivery staff then place the parcels in a marked area, indicated by a special doormat. Conversely, the parcel service also picks up items that have been prepared for collection from there. Once this is done, it leaves the home again and locks the door.
Push messages warn of doors left open
The thought of having someone you don't know enter your home in your absence is likely to immediately make many people feel uneasy. Obvious concerns about possible theft, pets trying to escape and doors left wide open have so far proved unfounded, reports Nuki CEO Martin Pansy: "There were no such problems during the pilot phase."
Anyone who wants to use Austrian Post's delivery option must guarantee a pet-free hallway or take responsibility for the consequences themselves. Delivery staff are required to wait until the door is locked. Push notifications on the Post handheld and optionally in the Nuki app inform all those involved about the locking status. The logged access authorization to the hallway, which is limited to the delivery time window, prevents secret visits. To be on the safe side, you can document the delivery on film using a Wi-Fi surveillance camera – provided there is a sign.
Launch in Germany possible by the end of the year
Austrian Post is the first parcel company to integrate the Nuki interface into its IT infrastructure. The logistics service has been testing the delivery option on a small scale with private households since 2021. The first 200 addresses are to be activated for regular operation from July 2024, with more to follow in the months thereafter. Registration is possible from Tuesday on the parcel service's website. There is no extra charge for the reception option.
If Nuki has its way, in-home delivery will soon be available outside of Austria. "Technically, there is nothing to stop us offering the service in Germany too. We are currently in talks," emphasizes Martin Pansy. In addition to parcel service providers on the scale of DHL and DPD, the Nuki CEO also sees a need for smaller delivery services for the catering industry, for crates of drinks and vegetables or for furniture removal companies. In these areas, missed deliveries are also a common annoyance.
"Due to the deep intervention in the IT infrastructure, the jugular vein of every logistics company, integration does not work overnight. However, it is possible in a maximum of six months," explains Pansy. He therefore believes that a launch in Germany by the end of the year would be optimistic, but feasible.
(vbr)