All smart locks from any manufacturer should work to the same standard, says a new venture from the Connectivity Standards Alliance, Apple, and hundreds of other technology firms.
Aliro aims to be the Matter of smart locks
The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) is the body behind Matter, which while it has taken some years, is becoming the standard for smart home devices in general. Now it's launched Aliro, which intends to do the same thing for all smart home locks.
"As we've seen with the introduction of Matter," said Connectivity Standards Alliance President and CEO Tobin Richardson in a statement, "it's been proven that global collaboration around a shared mission along open standards is the best way to achieve broader adoption of new technology."
"The Alliance and its members are now using that same model to unlock the potential of digital access experience," continued Richardson, "with the creation of a new standard and credential that makes adoption easier for mobile device and access control reader companies."
Aliro is described as being a "standardized communication protocol between access readers and user devices, providing a convenient and consistent experience." It should mean that users can lock and unlock smart locks using any smartphone, any wearable, or other device, while remaining secure.
CSA believes that by providing a base standard for manufacturers, it can reduce the cost of development for them all. This should provide lower-cost options for consumers, and those options should be interoperable.
"It will have a lasting impact," says the standards body, "on the way people access their homes, corporate offices and facilities, warehouses, hotel rooms, healthcare and university facilities, and more."
CSA claims to have 675 members, but it's not clear how involved each member firm is. In a separate list of members, Apple is described as a "Promoter," alongside Amazon, Eve, Google, and around 30 others.
Some 269 firms are called "Participants," while a further 229 are "Adopters."
What the CSA does say about this new project is that "since the Aliro effort got under way in 2022, nearly 200 Alliance member companies have signed on, donating dedicated time and resources to help pave the way for a better, interoperable, and more secure digital access experience."
The CSA is still recruiting member firms, and companies can sign up on the official site.