Apartment Intercom Works

 Apartment Intercom Works

An apartment intercom system allows entry to a visitor to a building. A visitor can come up to the entry system at the main building entrance, select an entry and call a tenant. This sends a buzzer signal to the resident inside the apartment. The resident can pick up the call using an audio phone call, or a video call using a video intercom mobile app. They can communicate with the visitor, and then release and buzz the door remotely.

The latest lobby intercoms include a large touchscreen panel, intercom, camera, and wireless connections to the tenant’s phones.  This multi-tenant intercom system connects from the lobby intercom station to an app on each person’s smartphone.

This article reviews the apartment Intercon’s state-of-the-art components making this a valuable and easy-to-install system for apartment houses and multi-tenant organizations.

The new systems have large LCD screens that allow you to see a list of the residents in the building. The intercom panel also includes a camera so the tenant can see and hear the visitor at the door. These video intercom systems are used in offices, hospitals, and other large multi-tenant organizations.

How the TFT LCD Display Works

The display has a high enough resolution (800 x 1280) to make the information clear and readable. The TFT LCD (Thin-Film-Transistor Liquid Crystal Display) consists of three layers: a sandwich-like structure with liquid crystal material filled between two glass plates.

The two polarizer filters, color filters (RGB, red/green/blue), and two alignment layers control the light allowed to pass and which colors are created.

LCD Intercom

The pixels are addressed in rows and columns, reducing the connection count from millions to thousands. The column and row wires attach to each pixel (or transistor switch). The transistor’s one-way current characteristic prevents the charge applied to each pixel from being drained between refreshes to a display’s image. Each pixel is a small capacitor with a layer of insulating liquid crystal sandwiched between transparent conductive ITO (Indium tin oxide) layers. The capacitor allows each sub-pixel to retain its charge between each cycle.

The display is bright enough to be seen in a well-lit environment. For example, many panels provide 400 Nits of brightness. The term “nit” is a unit of measurement defining luminance rather than an abbreviation. One Nit equals one candela per square meter. Imagine a candle inside a box that is one meter by one meter square. The light from the candle equals one candela, and the light hitting the sides of the cube is equivalent to one Nit.

How the Touchscreen Works

The touchscreen is a combination of an input device with a display screen. It provides a signal that indicates the position where a person touches the display screen. There are various types of touchscreens. Some of the older touchscreens use infrared beams around the edge, while others use surface acoustic waves or near-field imaging. Many current touchscreens use resistive or capacitive effect touchscreen.

Capacitive touch screens generally have a brighter, clearer appearance and are much more sensitive than resistive touch screens. The capacitive touchscreen is the most popular technology used on our smartphones, laptops, and tablet screens.

Touchpanel

Capacitive screens have multiple layers of glass and plastic coated with a conductor material like indium tin oxide or copper. This conductive material responds when contacted by another electrical conductor, like your bare finger. When you touch your screen, an electric circuit is completed at the point where your finger makes contact, changing the electrical charge at this location. Your device registers this information as a “touch event.”

Resistive touchscreens detect position by pressure applied to its surface. The pressure on the surface causes the two layers to touch, which relates to the position on the surface.

Once a touch event has been detected, the screen’s receptors notify the operating system where the screen has been touched, allowing the application to respond.

Intercom

The apartment intercom includes a built-in intercom with a speaker and microphone. The speaker requires enough sound level so it can be heard in noisy environments, while the microphone needs to be sensitive enough to hear the person near the intercom. The closeness of the microphone to the speaker can cause problems. This is solved by using echo suppression.

Intercom System Diagram

Echo suppression improves voice quality by preventing speaker sound from circulating from the speaker, creating feedback. Echo suppressors and echo cancellers have similar goals—preventing a speaking individual from hearing an echo of their own voice.

Camera

The camera allows the person answering the door to see the visitor. The camera usually has a reasonable resolution (usually 2-MegaPixels) and can view a wide angle. There is an IR illuminator so the camera can see when there isn’t any ambient lighting. The camera is also able to see a person in bright sunlight. Many of these cameras include a wide dynamic range that provides a clear image of the person, even with a bright background. The camera connects through the computer unit, and the video is sent to the tenant’s smartphone.

Processing Unit

The computer system includes the Central Processing Unit (CPU) that can run an Android, Linux, or Unix operating system. The computer and software control the intercom panel’s functions, including the display, IO (the relay), audio, WiFi, and Ethernet interface.

Cloud-Based Management

Apartment intercoms use cloud-based servers that maintain the record of all the users.

IP Apartment Intercom Diagram

The management software provides an easy method for updating and editing the user list. The message passes through the local intercom server and the network switch and router to the cloud server. The message is sent from the cloud server to the smartphone (or standard phone). Once the connection is established, the tenant can talk to the person at the door. They can then remotely unlock the door. The IP intercom system provides increased security because it allows the tenant, with a smartphone, to see the person at the door.

Apartment intercom systems actually come in several forms, and each has their own set of unique capabilities to meet the needs of different multifamily buildings.

Wired Apartment Intercoms

Wired intercoms require running a cable from the main entry panel to each apartment unit receiver. There were very popular for smaller condo and apartment buildings. They could have audio or video capabilities.

·        Much higher upfront cost of install due to all the wiring needed

·        No recurring cost once installed, which is beneficial

·        May come with video or audio

·        You have to be home, and constantly walk over the receiving unit in order to receive the intercom

·        No ability to give our remote access when you are not home

·        Cannot generate and give delivery PINs

·        Very difficult and technically complicated to program. Often requires paying a security company to makes change every time someone moves in

Wireless Intercom Systems

Wireless intercom systems have been the real game changer in the world of modern access.

Instead of requiring a wall mount station inside the apartment unit and outside the front door, wireless intercom systems offer the ability for tenants to receive a visitor call to their mobile phone or other device that is compatible with the system’s software. Tenants are no longer tied to a wired intercom station inside their apartment – they are able to receive visitor calls and grant access from anywhere. There are two different ways in which to do this: telephone entry system and video intercom systems.

Telephone Entry System

Telephone entry systems like Doorking and Linear are very popular over the last decade. Most of you might be familiar with these door entry callboxes. You can program a list of phone numbers in the callbox and connect it to a traditional phone line or cellular VOIP system (those cost extra per month).

·        Reliable and popular technology over the last 20 years

·        Audio calls can be received to smart phone and regular phones

·        Ability to release the door lock pressing a number – often 9

·        Major known security issues – e.g. you can buy a key on amazon to open the box and release doors

·        Lack of video allows package thieves to now pretend to be delivery drivers and get buzzed in

·        Very difficult to program by condo management and property management – requires a ton of technical training

Video Intercom Systems for Apartments

Video intercoms make video calls between visitors and residents. Smart intercom systems support option for telephone calls using VOIP, to support older or non tech savvy residents. Most buildings are upgrading to modern video intercom systems. Video intercoms used to be very expensive.

Benefits of Apartment Intercom Systems

Apartment intercoms are convenient for multifamily tenants and their guests, but they go far beyond just convenience. A building intercom system offers a layer of security to access management for the best protection of your biggest investment.

·        Secure delivery management is becoming more than just a building amenity. With the increasing rate of e-commerce, and the ability to have more and more essentials and necessities delivered right to your door, securing packages and deliveries is a must. With a building intercom system, couriers can easily be granted building access from either a call to the front desk staff or directly to the tenant.

·        Securely granting access to guests and visitors is not only convenient to the tenant, but also the other occupants in the building. Tenants have peace of mind knowing any other occupant in the building has been authorized.

·        Convenience for tenants enhances a building’s reputation and boost tenant retention and acquisition.

·        Reducing operational overhead is made easy with building intercom systems because it seamlessly supports front desk staff and enables frictionless access to other operational or maintenance staff.

·        Business continuity is another unassuming benefit of building intercom. But, should an apartment need to be seen or toured in order to fill a vacancy, self-guided, contactless apartment tours can be facilitated with remote unlock features. 

Summary of Apartment Intercom

The apartment intercom is a device that allows visitors to contact people inside a multi-tenant building. It consists of a TFT LCD with a touch panel, audio intercom section, IP camera, and processing unit. The new wireless intercom allows you to contact the resident’s smartphone or standard phone to request entry into the building. The lobby intercom display provides a list of all the tenants in the building.