Pressure Mat with contact sensor to open door

SmartApps & Automations
1

I am new to smartthings, but I am loving it so far (except the multiple user issue right now). I have been trying to figure out a way to trigger opening my front door locks but didn’t want to rely completely on wifi or Bluetooth. I was thinking that if I am present (connected to wifi) and I step onto a pressure matt in front of my door, the door lock will open and the lights will turn on.

Has anyone tried something like this yet, and is there an app/routine that you suggest I use to program this? Thanks in advance!

2

I am using a pressure matt to turn on my front patio lights, that part is currently run by smart lighting app. Same with doorbell rings, i have a smartthings multi taped to the ding plate on my doorbell. I have smart lighting turn on the front patio lights on acceleration. If you want it to be 2 factor (presence + matt) you’ll have to write it check out http://graph.api.smartthings.com and http://docs.smartthings.com/en/latest/getting-started/overview.html

3

Thanks for the info! The one issue I am still trying to work out is how to prevent anyone else from opening my front door via the pressure mat once I am in the house (my phone will show my as present). Any ideas? I am open to other methods to open my front door lock automatically when I am really close to the door (a few feet) from the outside, but not have it open automatically when I am in the house, unless someone else with a presence device comes to the front door.

Any Ideas?

4

I just use presence to unlock my door, nothing is going to happen in the few minuets it takes for me to walk from my car to my condo. If you feel this is way to dangerous for your home (it may legitimately be) you probably don’t want to automate your lock.

5

I wouldn’t base it just on you being present or, as you mentioned, the door will keep unlocking as long as you’re home, including when you’re sleeping in bed.

Instead, what I did was set up a transition mode so that my presence indicator coming into range changes the mode to something that allowed my door to unlock, but then the mode changes again. That way I’m really capturing the moment of arrival.

i’m a wheelchair user, I have quite a few friends who use pressure mats at the bottom of the wheelchair ramp as a way of opening an automatic door at the top of the ramp. But you still want to combine that with some kind of presence indicator so it only works for you.

The following topic describes what I did as far as the two device check to capture the arrival moment.

And this topic discusses pressure mats in more detail.