URC has announced a technology partnership with ekey, a biometric access control specialist, on corresponding authentication within its Total Control automation ecosystem.
The integration, supporting scanner formats from wall-mounted to door-integrated designs, connects ekey’s bionyx fingerprint scanners with URC’s control platform.
Joseph Spinelli, senior director of product development at URC, said: “Our ongoing mission is to provide our dealers with premium tools that deliver genuine value and security to their clients.
“Partnering with ekey allows us to give users a highly secure, frictionless way to interact with and personalise their environments."
Beyond purely unlocking a door, the system can identify individual users and activate predefined settings for lighting, climate, audio and security.
From a homeowner perspective, it can create specific user experiences based on verified identity; a fingerprint scan can disarm a security system, unlock the property and launch a personalised scene, while notifications provide entry visibility.
The integration also supports scheduled permissions, allowing homeowners or property managers to grant restricted access to guests, service providers or staff without issuing keys or codes.
With custom installation in mind, URC and ekey have developed a software driver to simplify the technology’s deployment for integrators specifically through IP-based communication between the biometric hardware and Total Control processors.