2N, provider of internet-enabled intercoms and access control systems, has published a new white paper entitled, ‘Access Control 3.0: the new standards in residential access.’ The white paper argues that we recently entered a new era in access control which represents a technological revolution in the industry — and it is one which is already having a transformative impact worldwide.
Over the last 6,000+ years, access control has progressed through three stages. The first access control revolution, Access Control 1.0, was inaugurated by the earliest lock and key devices. The oldest we know of was found in the ruins of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and is from around 4,000 BCE. Access 2.0 began when Charles Walton, an American inventor, received the first U.S. patent for a passive RFID (radio frequency identification) device, which enabled key cards and enhanced the security of door-locking systems.