In addition to traditional keypad designs, newer units aim at surviving more rugged environments. Some now emphasize the need to meet the aesthetics of the building or corporation in which they work. And then there’s the growing attraction for keypads to multi-task, working with access cards or even biometrics.
Keypads were among the early mechanical and then electronic security devices, with push buttons first driving a door bolt, much like a combination lock. Originally developed for government and military use, including the then breakthrough scrambling keypad, today the devices guard entrances to office buildings, corporate data centers, after-hour school and college facilities, parking garages and even worker and equipment lockers.