Conference room access control is an important requirement in certain types of businesses and educational environments. As technologies evolve, these systems are set to become more integrated and intelligent. Further exploration and consultation in this field can lead to tailored solutions that align with specific organizational needs. Such integration allows for efficient room booking, automated access permissions based on bookings, and real-time occupancy monitoring, optimizing resource allocation.

Meeting Room Schedule is an app for tablet displays that are mounted next to conference room doors to show the status of the room. The subjects of the scheduled meetings and their attendance status can be read. Users create room bookings from the tablet and check in or release meetings. The app gives style customization features like fonts, background pictures, or the company logo. The app is compatible with various resource calendars and scheduling systems, such as 0365, Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace, and others. It’s made for buildings with multiple meeting rooms, coworking venues, and educational institutions. The solution is unique for supporting many advanced scenarios for office access control. High-end tablet displays from Qbic Technology have proven to be the best choice when it comes to projects with custom integrations. Learn more about our conference room access control scenarios below. Displays shown are Android-based TD-1050 Pro and TD-1070 models.

Conference Room Automation – Wired Locks

Wired locks with card readers and buzzers are common elements of office access control. If we talk about automation, one scenario of conference room access control is to open doors when a meeting begins. After the event, meeting room doors can be auto-locked. If someone is left inside the room, an exit button next to the meeting room door is there to unlock manually. Wired, magnetic doors can be opened using the relais of the GPIO module AC-500. Multiple scenarios can be set to match daily operations for hosts, visitors, caterers, or cleaning staff. In our example, we used the Dormakaba 117AE that is an electric strike lock (power to unlock). Other locks can be adapted, for example timed output.

The touch display can be set to ask for authorization. User rights can be managed to restrict check-in, booking, or releasing meetings. The identification of user groups can be important if the room’s usage is monitored or even charged.

Locks can be opened using chipcards, keyfobs, or entering a PIN on the tablet display. This behavior can be combined with meeting room automation scenarios.

Conference Room Automation – Wireless Locks

Some customers try to avoid wiring installations for their conference room automation. This is especially true for lease objects. Sometimes glass doors and glass walls create additional hurdles for wiring installations. In this case, wireless Bluetooth locks come into play. They are configured by cylinder type, size, and materials used. The doorknob inside the meeting room comes with lock/unlock buttons for manual operation.

Wireless locks come with rechargeable Lithium Batteries that require periodic charging. We have experience with locks that have embedded batteries and can be charged via USB-C. The communication needs to be disconnected to save the battery in most cases. The wake-up time is critical and opening a conference room door can be slower compared to the reaction time of a wired lock. The duration can be shortened by detecting a person’s proximity.

Conference Room Access Control – Building Access Integrations

Let’s talk about scenarios where event invitations are sent to visitors. The visitors need to validate their invitation and personal data upon entering the building. Usually, this process can be streamlined by utilizing building access management solutions. But what’s the link to conference room automation? What if it’s required to restrict visitor access to the one conference room that has been defined for the event? This can be done with QR codes that become part of the invitation. With this QR on their mobile phones or printed on paper, visitors have a limited building pass for the time of the event. When they pass all the other security gates to reach the conference room door, the QR code serves as a door key. They touch the scan key on the door display, the tablet camera is activated to scan the code. The code is validated again and opens the door if positive.

This might seem like a scenario for high security levels but makes sense for campus access control or shared conference rooms where doors are locked by default. Event venues that offer lectures or business meetings need to provide conference room access control to students, visitors, employees, and lecturers.

In coworking spaces, meeting rooms serve as profit centers and are available for hourly rental. Meeting room automation can help reduce personnel costs. External hosts are creating room bookings, invite external guests, and need access validation before opening the meeting room door. Indoor navigation can be a good option here. Wayfinding assistance can be provided within the email sent for the visit.

Meeting Room Schedule integrates 3rd party solutions to close the gaps in this workflow. Invitations are created in room resource calendars of 0365, Microsoft Exchange, Google Workspace and passed to the visitor management system. The QR codes are validated next to the meeting room door, again using the integration with the office access control system. This configuration reduces hardware complexity and saves many units of readers.