Electronic Keybox Controller with BLE Location Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Real estate agents often forget to replace access keys in keyboxes or misplace them, leading to security and tracking issues.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing an electronic keybox controller that communicates with a mobile device via personal area networks, such as Bluetooth Low Energy, to monitor the key's location, track its return, and alert the user if it is not replaced, ensuring secure return and reducing the risk of loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the keybox provides easy access to the key, then the ease of operation is improved, but the reliability of key return is worsened because agents may forget to replace keys
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors the keybox state (locked/unlocked) and communicates this information to the agent's mobile device. When the keybox transitions to unlocked state, the system sends notifications to remind the agent to return the key, providing feedback that addresses the reliability issue while maintaining easy access operations
Solution Approach 2:
The system sends advance notifications to the agent's mobile device before the keybox lock expires or when the key is due to be returned. This preliminary action reminds the agent to return the key before forgetting, thus improving reliability without affecting the ease of access when needed
2Reliability
If the keybox implements tracking functionality, then the reliability of key return is improved, but the device complexity is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the agent's mobile device as an intermediary to handle complex tracking and notification functions. The keybox itself remains relatively simple, while the mobile device performs the sophisticated monitoring, location tracking, and communication tasks, thus improving reliability without significantly increasing keybox complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile device serves multiple functions: it acts as a remote lock control, a tracking monitor, a notification sender, and a communication hub. By making the mobile device multi-functional, the system achieves reliable key return tracking without adding dedicated complex components to the keybox itself
3Reliability
If the system sends multiple alerts, then the reliability of key return is improved, but the loss of time is worsened due to repeated notifications
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic notifications at predetermined intervals rather than continuous or excessive alerts. The mobile device sends reminders at scheduled times (e.g., before lock expiration, at regular intervals), providing sufficient reinforcement to improve key return reliability while avoiding time-wasting repeated notifications
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a system for monitoring a location of a key relative to a keybox, configured to perform: (i) providing access to the key by: communicating over a personal area network with a first mobile-device for the first user as the first user approaches the keybox in an attempt to obtain the key, obtaining first credentials from the first mobile-device, determining whether the first credentials are valid or invalid, when the first credentials are valid: putting the keybox in an unlocked configuration, (ii) tracking a location of the key by: communicating over the personal area network with: the key and/or mobile-device to determine whether the key is being returned to the keybox, wherein upon a determination by the keybox or the mobile-device that the key is not being returned, an alert is provided by the mobile-device to the first user.