WHAT ARE SMART LOCKERS

Smart locker systems are secure storage and distribution systems with that type of computer and sensor network built in. They can adjust on the fly which assets are available for sign-out, flag assets in need of repair, and alert you to irregularities in sign-out patterns.

Core Components of Smart Lockers

The Lockers

Whether they’re smart or not, lockers need to be reliable storage systems. From the outside, most smart locker systems look like traditional storage lockers. They often have either ventilated metal or clear high-impact polycarbonate doors.

Authentication Panel

This is the first component that makes a locker smart. Requiring staff to individually identify themselves gives you tighter control over who is able to access specific equipment.

The most basic authentication option is the PIN code, but it is also the least secure option. Security researchers have found that PIN codes are too easy for determined attackers to guess. In fact, the top 5 percent most popular PIN code combinations account for more than half of all the actual PIN codes in use worldwide.

For higher security environments, other options are available. These include swipe cards, smartphone apps, or biometric scans, such as fingerprint, facial or eye scans.

Content Surveillance

In addition to tracking users, a smart locker system also needs to be able to track individual assets. This is called content surveillance. One of the most reliable and cost-effective ways to do this is with passive RFID tags.

These tags can be attached to or embedded in a wide variety of materials. Smart lockers read tags to confirm that the correct asset is taken or returned.

Content surveillance can also be performed using USB charging cables built into lockers. When tablets, smartphones, and other electronics charged by these cables are plugged in, their identification is relayed to lockers.

Management Software

All of this data gathered from asset transactions is only useful if it is presented in a clear and concise way. Asset management software pulls all of that data together into an easy-to-read dashboard. These management portals are also where you can customize and view user and transaction reports, which can be useful in regulatory compliance.

Possible Applications:

Securing knives in airports is just one of the many customized uses for smart lockers. You can take a look at our Best Practices for Physical Asset Management guide for complete details, but here are some of the storage solutions we’ve developed. This range of uses illustrates just how flexible smart locker technology can be.

1. Physical Mobile Device Management Many businesses rely on staff using expensive portable electronics in hectic environments, such as workers using handheld scanners for inventory management in distribution warehouses. As those devices are misplaced or lost, productivity drops. If those devices get damaged, replacement costs can add up.

Real Time Networks has deployed smart lockers with content surveillance to improve handheld scanner management in warehouses and distribution centers. Losses are cut and dedicated maintenance lockers speed the return to service of damaged equipment.

2. Evidence Management Law enforcement agencies have traditionally spent a lot of effort managing forensic evidence in their custody. Often, dedicated evidence managers are tasked with watching over evidence lockers, collecting chain of custody forms, and ensuring evidence is available for detectives and court dates.

Smart lockers can automatically handle chain of custody tasks. They also function 24 hours a day, so evidence can be tracked across all shifts, not just the first shifts when evidence managers normally work. Refrigerated locker modules are also available for safely storing biological evidence.

3. Regulatory Compliance Your regulatory burden doesn’t have to be as unique as airport knife tracking for smart lockers to be the right solution. The reporting features in RTNHub are able to pull transaction and user data into a wide variety of report formats. No matter what your regulatory demand is, smart lockers offer a way to track and record assets in order to keep you in compliance.

4. Kit Component Checks Content surveillance using passive RFID tags is accurate enough that multiple items can be tagged and scanned per locker, even through hard plastic carrying cases. This makes kit component checks for things like EMT medicine bags easy to automate in a smart locker.

5. Parcel Protection There is a growing demand for retail pickup services, and many businesses are leaning on smart storage and distribution systems as a means to meet it.

Source :https://www.realtimenetworks.com/blog/what-is-a-smart-locker