Part of Sony’s plans to shake things up include a new division at Sony that employs a venture-style approach to fast-tracks promising ideas. Our first glimpse of this was last month’s eink watch. Now we’re seeing another one of these promising ideas.
Sony has once again turned to Japanese crowd-funding site Makuake to raise the necessary cash for a new smart lock. Dubbed Qrio, this campaign was posted by a company called Qrio Co., Ltd, which is a joint venture between Sony and World Innovation Lab. The device requires no tools for installation, and fits on top of your current lock. You open the door with your smartphone (Bluetooth 4.0) and can “share” temporary keys with friends, family, or even a repair technician.
Sony hasn’t commented on the device but the campaign has already met its funding goal and then some (funding progress currently sits at 170%) with 89 days remaining. Just going by the perks, the cost of the device translates to about $115 before tax with a 20% discount. Shipments are scheduled to start May 2015.
