The lock that knows which way you're walking
Walk past your own front door with a phone in your pocket, and the first generation of passive unlock systems would open the lock anyway. The bolt moved because you were within range, not because you were heading inside. The technology tracked where you were. It had no idea where you were going.
In October 2026, ULTRALOQ shipped the Bolt Mission ($299.99) alongside the Bolt Pro ($269.99, deadbolt) and Latch 5 Pro ($249.99, lever handle). The Bolt Pro and Latch 5 Pro carry Aliro certification — the open credential standard ratified in February 2026, which lets the same digital key stored in an Apple, Google, or Samsung wallet open any certified lock regardless of manufacturer. The Bolt Mission does not carry that certification. It carries something more specific instead.
The Bolt Mission combines Ultra-Wideband radio — the same protocol in the Schlage Sense Pro, capable of measuring distance and angle to centimeter accuracy — with a millimeter-wave radar chip. This class of chip appears in building automation systems as an occupancy sensor, detecting whether a conference room holds anyone by reading micro-vibrations, including the micro-movements of breathing. Pointed at a door instead, it reads trajectory. Someone walking at typical pace directly toward the door from the street trips the unlock before their hand reaches the handle. Someone moving laterally inside, at the same range, does not register.
The ULTRALOQ announcement did not name the specific radar chipmaker. Millimeter-wave radar had appeared in residential occupancy sensors before October 2026, but the Bolt Mission was the first residential lock to combine UWB distance-and-angle data with radar trajectory sensing in a single unit for general retail sale.
The false-trigger problem had been the main objection to passive unlocking since Apple added UWB support to HomeKey in iOS 18, in September 2024. Early tests of the Schlage Sense Pro — which shipped June 29, 2026 — documented cases where the deadbolt moved as the owner walked by on the inside. The Bolt Mission’s radar is addressed to exactly that failure mode.
Nuki’s Keypad 2 NFC, released in March 2026 at $179, was among the first Aliro-certified consumer devices, offering tap-to-unlock through either an iPhone or an Android phone without requiring any manufacturer-specific app. By October 2026, a handful of additional manufacturers had certified hardware under the same standard. The lock that required a specific phone brand was becoming the exception.
Aliro, UWB, and millimeter-wave radar arrived at the same front door from three different industries and three different decades. The bolt behind the door is still what Robert Barron designed in 1778: a steel latch that a cylinder either captures or releases. Everything around it has been replaced several times over.
Sources
- ULTRALOQ launches Matter over Thread locks with Aliro and UWB — HomeKitNews — September 25 announcement; October 2026 availability; Bolt Pro ($269.99), Latch 5 Pro ($249.99), Bolt Mission ($299.99); Aliro certification status; UWB and radar on Bolt Mission.
- ULTRALOQ achieves Aliro certification — MatterAlpha — Aliro certification for Bolt Pro and Latch 5 Pro; NFC tap-to-unlock; Samsung and Apple wallet compatibility.
- Nuki Keypad 2 NFC, one of the first Aliro-certified devices — CE Pro — March 2026 release; $179 MSRP; first-to-market context.
- ULTRALOQ launches three next-gen smart locks — The Ambient — Bolt Mission UWB and radar combination; Matter over Thread; hands-free unlock detail.