[Courtesy of Sesame Lab]
SEOUL -- Blockchain technology is bringing about change innovative changes in many parts of daily lives, including the home security system. Using a contactless digital master key platform, smartphone users don't have to take out access cards or press passwords to enter their houses. They just need a smartphone application.
Keyring, a digital key platform developed by Sesame Lab, an IT startup founded by Damian Kim, is drawing attention in a contactless era caused by a COVID-19 pandemic. It is unhackable and does not leak personal information through security algorithms applied with blockchain and nonfungible token (NFT) technology.
NFT is a unit of data stored on a blockchain network of interlinked virtual ledgers. Each NFT is certified by a blockchain as a unique digital asset that is not interchangeable. The technology can be used in the content industry where proof of ownership is crucial.
"Other than home keys using simple IoT technology, no one around the world has attempted to bundle keys into one other than home keys using simple IoT technology," Kim told Aju Business Daily. "We can maintain high security as well as convenience through a high level of blockchain algorithms."
The biggest advantage is that it is contactless and acts as a master key by bringing all the keys together through a smartphone app without any special manipulation. With confidence in technical skills, Sesame Lab targets the overseas market, just a year after Keyring was released, starting with Singapore by adding a smart door lock control service to its digital key platform.
Through an agreement with local partners, Kim aims to expand the installation of devices entering the joint entrance and launch active marketing in Southeast Asia. The next goal is Smart Lab's initial public offering within five years.
After its establishment in 2018, Kim developed a smart door lock, but it was not easy to survive due to low-priced Chinese products that forced Kim to introduce a new security solution by adding blockchain technology.
"The biggest concern for people who use keys or smart door locks is intrusion and hacking. To relieve their concerns, I thought it was necessary to digitize devices such as keys," Kim said, admitting that COVID-19 had brought difficulties and opportunities at the same time.
Since COVID-19 spread worldwide, hardware companies have struggled with the poor supply of parts. "I set my goal to become a company with both hardware and software solutions by creating a digital key that is safer than door locks," Kim said, explaining how he rode out a crisis through a bold business transition.
(This story is based on a Korean-language interview conducted by Aju Business Daily reporter Lee Na-kyung)
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