In 2022, the global smart lock market is estimated to be valued at USD 2.1 billion, and reach USD 3.9 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 12.9% between 2022 and 2027. The increasing shooting, terrorist activities, and crime rate make people more concerned about security and drive the rapid adoption of home security systems. In general, a security system consists of different components, including motion sensors, smart lock indoor and outdoor cameras, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors. Among them, the smart lock is one of the key and basic devices.

How Smart Locks Work?

A smart lock is an electromechanical lock that accepts instructions from a phone with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, performing locking and unlocking operations on a door. Most smart locks are installed on mechanical locks (simple types of locks, including deadbolts) and they physically upgrade the ordinary lock. It also manages access and sends signals for the different roles it controls and some other important functions connected with the status of the device. A smart lock offers extends from the safety of the general public to the safety of private property, which can safeguard your home with strict accessing permission, using an APP, PIN code, or fingerprints to open your door and avoid fishing around the physical key to decrease the possibility of robbery.

Compared with most traditional locks on entry doors are made with a mechanism module, smart locks are powered by electronic systems and drive systems. ZHAOWEI, a smart home solutions provider, researches and develops gear motor drive systems for a smart lock. To improve door lock reliability, ZHAOWEI embeds a gear motor drive mechanism into the door lock cylinder system. With the advantages of worm and gear set transmission, the system increases unlocking speed, safety, and lifetime. The micro gearbox uses different parameters for basic locking, utilizing multi-stage transmission, that changes from Stage 1 to Stage 4. The reduction ratio, stator speed, and torque then adjust according to the driving demand of the clutch motor in the lock’s body. This results in the ability to install smart gearboxes with compact structures, high efficiency, and high torque. There is no longer a need to face the awkwardness caused by door locks failing to open.

How Gear Motors by ZHAOWEI Improve the Smart Lock?

1. Ensure the Security

As for the safety of a door lock, the lock core is the key point. The general locking pin is controlled by the front panel while the digital door lock motor in ZHAOWEI’s intelligent door lock drive solution makes it possible to directly cooperate with the lock core in the lock core system to form the intelligent lock control panel with a post-processing system. Besides, special defensive measures have been taken to support anti-electromagnetic interference, which have passed the test of electromagnetic interference of different power and various failure analysis.

2. Build the Reliability of Unlocking

Reliability of unlocking is also what ZHAOWEI firmly pursues. The micro gearbox structure used for the lock core can adjust the parameters of each motor according to the multilayer variable transmission ratio of mechanism. Two-level, three-level and four-level gear changes are available to adjust the reduction ratio, stator speed and torque based on the driving demand of the clutch motor in the lock body. Thus, it can realize the intelligent drive with compact structure, strong dynamic, high efficiency, and small & large torque. Moreover, this prevents the users from failing to enable the intelligent smart fingerprint door lock motor, contributing to higher reliability.

3. Improve the Speed of Unlocking

The actual lock core is gourd-shaped and runs through both sides of the lock body. A transmission device in the lock core comes to control the expansion of the bolt when the key rotates. ZHAOWEI smart lock drive solution uses a deceleration gearbox based on the lock core transmission device and together with a gear motor for better performance, which can effectively control unlock and lock function of lock core driven by the smart lock motor. The gear motor driven locks design makes the lock core controllable and improves the speed of unlocking.

Future Smart Lock Market

According to FBI reports, home burglary accounted for 17.1% of the estimated number of property crimes in 2020. By subcategorization, 56.7% of burglaries involved forcible entry, and the victims of burglary offenses suffered an estimated USD 3.4 billion in property losses in 2020. This indicates opportunities for more secured and advanced security systems. The increasing penetration of the Internet and the growing popularity of IoT, coupled with the benefits of connecting smart locks to the Internet, are among the major factors creating a significant opportunity for the growth of the smart lock market. In the future, the smart lock market in APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The vast population base, a large extent of ongoing research and development (R&D) activities, and increasing urbanization are expected to fuel the adoption of smart locks in APAC.