Smart buildings are on the rise globally, increasing the demand for integrated technologies that blend automation with sustainability, security, and efficiency. Among these cutting-edge technologies, intelligent access control systems are redefining how we interact with buildings, making access smarter, faster, and more secure. Here, we explore why innovative access control is a core component of every smart building design and the wide range of products and applications being developed to support these intelligent systems.
Building Automation Systems: The new era of building control
Today's smart buildings are not just about saving energy but about optimising the human experience and how we work, relax, and interact with each other and our environment. This is made possible by Building Automation Systems (BAS) – the centralised control of core building functions like HVAC, lighting, energy, and security.
Powered by IoT, AI, and cloud integration, modern BAS is transforming once-static structures into adaptive ecosystems where climate control is personalised to individual occupants, lighting automatically adjusts to circadian rhythms, and access is controlled by biometric recognition, remote monitoring, AI detectors, and IoT integration.
Why now?
Society is becoming increasingly digitised, and AI's surging popularity is just one example of this. Other demand drivers for smart building solutions include:
- ESG imperatives and growing regulations and demand for green buildings.
- Rising adoption of individual smart building automation solutions like IoT.
- Need for enhanced security, advanced surveillance and improved access control.
- Reduced energy consumption and maintenance costs.
- Demand for better workplace and residential comfort.
- Adoption of cloud-based systems, AI, and big data analytics.
Access control of tomorrow is secure, seamless, and sentient
Buildings are becoming cognitive ecosystems capable of making real-time adjustments based on occupancy or external conditions while seamlessly integrating physical and digital access credentials. At the same time, predictive security systems can now anticipate and prevent threats based on biometric, voice, or even emotion recognition.
This means that instead of fixed access controls like standard lock-and-key or card scanner technology, building systems can now recognise occupants (or trespassers), authorise and control their movements, and adjust access based on real-time, moment-to-moment monitoring.
Imagine a hospital where biometric locks allow for secure, hands-free access to operating rooms. Or an office that knows when to unlock a boardroom for a scheduled visitor. Or a residential apartment that uses algorithms and historical data to predict when and where a resident will require access. This is the promise of smart access control in 2025 and beyond.
The role of mechatronics within access control innovation
Mechatronics fuses mechanical systems with electronics and control engineering. It's the powerhouse behind precision and adaptability, essential for modern access control systems. Think of a traditional locking system consisting of precision metalwork and moving parts. Whilst the mechatronics element remains, the physical ‘key’ to open the lock is increasingly being replaced with some form of smart technology.
Why mechatronics works well for access control innovation:
- Scalability: It supports modular, multi-site deployments that can easily scale according to demand.
- Precision: It delivers reliable, low-latency, fault-tolerant mechanisms.
- Versatility: Mechatronic solutions can integrate with cloud platforms, mobile apps, and security systems.
A mechatronics manufacturing partner with design-to-delivery capabilities can help businesses achieve end-to-end product development, from precision prototyping to fast-turn engineering modifications to scalable production for smart infrastructure worldwide.
24 access control innovations for 2025
This list blends visionary concepts likely to be developed in the coming years with market-ready technologies we’re already seeing in 2025.
- Biometric multi-factor locks: These locking systems combine fingerprint, voice, and retina scanning in a single module for high-security zones.
- AI-powered facial recognition entry: Real-time, adaptive facial verification that dynamically learns to identify authorised personnel in varied lighting/angles.
- Touchless entry systems: Infrared and ultrasonic sensors integrated with motion tracking open doors using gesture or proximity detection.
- Smartphone-as-Key systems: NFC and BLE-powered mobile app access with dynamic, time-bound permissions.
- Real-time occupancy-based access control: Sensors auto-adjust access and entry clearance based on room capacity and schedules.
- Blockchain credential verification: Immutable access logs, credentials records, and decentralised ID verification.
- Voice-controlled access for disability inclusion: These inclusive, hands-free accessibility options also have natural language processing built into control units.
- Energy-harvesting smart locks: Kinetic or solar-powered units for off-grid installations that harvest energy from user interaction or ambient light.
- Predictive maintenance alerts for locks: Machine Learning algorithms detect wear-and-tear before failures occur, enabling proactive maintenance.
- Fire-integrated access systems: Access controls that adapt in emergencies, such as automatically unlocking during fire evacuations.
- Dynamic lockdown zones: Zone-specific lockdowns, triggered by AI threat detection, create containment areas during threats.
- Mask recognition and health screening: Pandemic-driven innovation evolving into built-in health-compliance features that can mitigate the spread of diseases.
- Temporary digital guest badging: Expiry-based QR or RFID tags for visitors that streamline visitor access control.
- Mobile biometrics for contractors and service providers: Secure site access via mobile ID and biometrics verification for on-the-fly access authorisation.
- Wearable-based entry: Smartwatches or AR glasses act as access tokens for seamless, proximity-triggered entry.
- Drone-based perimeter surveillance and access monitoring: Aerial mechatronic units patrol properties and report in real-time.
- Micro-location-based access differentiation: Bluetooth beacons enable personalised, zone-specific permissions within buildings.
- Smart elevators with floor-restricted access: These futuristic lifts grant users access only to permitted floors, improving security.
- Remote, cloud-based credential management dashboards: Ideal for managing access across global facilities, admins can grant or revoke access across multiple buildings, anywhere in the world, in seconds.
- AI-based body language recognition at entry points: Detects and flags erratic or threatening behaviour that could indicate a security breach.
- Haptic feedback entry panels: Tactile-based interaction for the visually impaired improves inclusive access control.
- Augmented reality access interfaces: Technicians use AR to interact with invisible access protocols for speedy maintenance.
- Self-healing materials in entry mechanisms: Materials with smart polymers repair minor damage to doors and panels that can exploited for unauthorised access if left to deteriorate over time.
- Digital twins for access systems: Virtual replication of access systems for predictive analytics, testing, and diagnostics.
Conclusion
Smart buildings are no longer a futuristic concept reserved for the future; they are quickly becoming an established part of everyday life. As the technology that defines these intelligent infrastructures evolves, smart access control becomes increasingly necessary. From the biometric-based access controls we’re already accustomed to, to the more advanced systems we’ll soon see appearing, the innovations we build today lay the groundwork for a safer, smarter tomorrow.
As smart access control continues to evolve, manufacturers will need reliable, scalable, and forward-thinking manufacturing partnerships to help them deliver the access control solutions smart buildings demand.
At ESCATEC, we're at the forefront of building this future. With decades of mechatronics expertise, we support OEMs in delivering intelligent, secure, and scalable building automation and controls tailored for tomorrow’s connected infrastructure.