BAS-IP Mobile SDK: How to Add Video Door Entry to Your Own Mobile App
A residential development, property management company or PropTech platform may already have its own mobile app. Residents use it to pay bills, book meeting rooms, submit maintenance requests and receive notifications. Then a video intercom system is installed, and residents are asked to download another app just to answer a call from the entrance.
BAS-IP Mobile SDK removes the need for a second app. Video calls, door release and mobile access can be integrated into the app residents already use. The partner’s development team works with ready-made BAS-IP components and adapts the interface to its own product.
In our overview of integrating BAS-IP with existing building systems, we covered the available approaches: standard protocols, Link API, Mobile SDK and Device API. Here, we focus on mobile integration: what the SDK can do, what needs to be prepared and where its limitations lie.
A Day in the Life of a Resident
The easiest way to explain Mobile SDK is to look at an ordinary day for someone living in a building equipped with BAS-IP.
While the resident is at work, a courier calls from the entrance panel. The phone displays video from the camera before the resident even answers. They see the parcel, answer the call and release the door.
In the evening, the resident returns home and uses their smartphone to open the entrance door via Bluetooth. A UKEY mobile credential has already been activated in the app.
A little later, the main entrance door bangs shut, and the resident’s child should be home from school by now. The resident opens the entrance camera themselves, without any call, to see who is at the entrance.
All of this happens in one app. The same app the resident used to pay a bill that morning.
Mobile SDK provides the components needed for each of these actions. Let’s look at how they work and what the development team needs to prepare.
What Is Included in BAS-IP Mobile SDK?
BAS-IP Mobile SDK provides libraries, technical documentation and code examples for mobile developers. It works with BAS-IP Link and supports both iOS and Android.
The SDK enables an app to:
- register and authenticate users;
- retrieve user profiles and lists of accessible devices;
- receive and make door entry calls;
- transmit audio and video;
- display video from an entrance panel before a call is answered;
- view an entrance panel’s camera without an incoming call;
- release doors remotely;
- display incoming and outgoing call history;
- use a smartphone as a Bluetooth mobile credential;
- call a lift when the required equipment is installed on site.
Partners can select the components they need and decide how those functions should appear within their app.
Three Components: Core, Calls and UKEY
Core connects the application to BAS-IP Link. It handles resident sign-in, password recovery and the retrieval of user profiles and accessible devices. It also provides the functionality needed to initiate calls, release doors, display call history and call lifts.
Calls handles door entry communication, including incoming and outgoing calls, audio and video transmission, and call management. The SDK manages call states, such as an incoming call being received, the app becoming ready to answer, a call ending and which party ended the conversation. On iOS, CallKit is used for system-level call handling.
UKEY turns a smartphone into a mobile key. The resident scans a QR code, which activates a mobile credential in the app. The phone can then be used to open a door via Bluetooth through a compatible BAS-IP reader.
Depending on how the app is implemented, access can be arranged without a separate button press. For example, door opening can be triggered when the resident unlocks their phone near the reader. Fully automatic door unlocking simply by approaching with a locked phone, however, is not a standard SDK feature.
The QR code is used once to activate the credential on the phone. It is unrelated to a visitor QR code that a courier might use to enter the building.
How Does an Incoming Call Reach the Phone?
When the mobile app is running in the background or the phone is locked, push notifications are used to deliver incoming calls. They allow the app to be activated and prepared to receive a call, even when the resident has not opened it.
The process works as follows:
- A visitor presses the call button on a BAS-IP entrance panel.
- The call reaches the BAS-IP Link server.
- The push server sends a notification to the resident’s smartphone.
- The app is activated and prepares to receive the call.
- The resident receives the incoming call and can answer it.
Receiving incoming calls requires push infrastructure. This includes a push notification server that communicates with Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) for Android and Apple Push Notification service (APNs) for iOS.
Depending on the project architecture, the push server may be deployed by the partner or provided by BAS-IP. The appropriate arrangement is agreed during integration planning.
If the app does not require calling functionality, a push server is not needed. A BAS-IP Link server is required in all cases, as the SDK works only with Link.
Your App, Your Interface
BAS-IP provides sample screens and icons with the SDK, but partners are not required to use them. Buttons, call screens, navigation and colours can all be designed to match the existing application.
For residents, video door entry becomes a natural part of their property management app rather than a separate vendor-branded service.
Multiple Phones for One Flat
A courier presses the call button for a flat, and both parents’ phones ring. The first person to answer takes the call, while the incoming call stops ringing on the other phone.
Calls may reach different phones a few moments apart, depending on network conditions and the state of each device.
The list of recipients is determined by the call forwarding settings in BAS-IP Link. The important point is that a flat’s door entry system does not have to be tied to a single resident’s phone.
Video Before Answering and Without an Incoming Call
Video from the entrance panel can be displayed before the resident answers the call. They can see who is at the entrance and then decide whether to answer.
There is also a second scenario: viewing the entrance camera when nobody has called.
Technically, this still involves establishing a connection with the panel. From the resident’s perspective, however, it can be as simple as tapping a button to see who is at the entrance.
Who Can Residents Call from the App?
Residents can call devices available to them through BAS-IP Link. Depending on the site’s configuration, these may include an entrance panel, an indoor monitor in their flat, a concierge or the security team.
What they cannot do is call another mobile app directly. The SDK does not support direct app-to-app calls between two smartphones.
This limitation should be considered when designing the application’s contact list and calling functions.
Call History and Door Release
The app can display a call history showing incoming and outgoing calls, the date and time, who called or was called, and whether a call was answered or missed.
For example, a resident can check whether someone called while they were travelling on public transport.
The partner can place the door release button wherever it makes sense within the call screen. The SDK handles the necessary communication with BAS-IP equipment, so developers do not have to implement the door release command mechanism themselves.
Lift Control
The lift call function works when two conditions are met: a BAS-IP lift module has been installed and configured on site, and the resident has the necessary access rights.
The SDK cannot control a lift system directly without a BAS-IP lift module. The required equipment, compatibility and configuration must be confirmed during project design.
Why Use Mobile SDK Instead of Developing Door Entry Communication from Scratch?
A company can develop its own video door entry functionality for its mobile app. However, its team would then need to implement incoming and outgoing calls, push notifications, background operation, audio and video transmission, call management, door release and communication with BAS-IP Link.
That functionality would also need ongoing maintenance as iOS and Android evolve.
BAS-IP Mobile SDK provides ready-made components for these tasks. The partner remains responsible for integrating the components, designing the app interface, preparing the necessary infrastructure and testing the solution, but does not need to build the entire door entry communication system from scratch.
This is particularly valuable for PropTech platforms where video door entry is only one feature of a much larger product. The development team can focus on its own platform while using existing BAS-IP components for door entry communication.
For a practical example, see the Accrete integration case study, which describes how a property technology provider added BAS-IP door entry functions to its existing mobile application.
What Does the Development Team Receive?
Once the project has been agreed and a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) has been signed, the partner’s development team receives access to the necessary BAS-IP Mobile SDK materials.
These include software libraries, technical documentation and code examples. The exact materials supplied and how they are made available depend on the technical configuration and requirements of the project.
The necessary library and documentation updates are provided as part of the technical support for the integration. The partner’s team decides when to update the components in use and release a new version of its application.
What Remains the Partner’s Responsibility?
The partner is responsible for integrating the SDK libraries, developing the user interface and application logic, testing, publishing the app to the App Store and Google Play, and providing ongoing maintenance.
Push infrastructure requirements and responsibility for deployment are agreed separately for each project.
BAS-IP provides the SDK, documentation and code examples, and answers technical questions relating to its own components.
Third-party Mobile SDK integrations currently use BAS-IP Link Self-Hosted. If a project is planned for Link Cloud, the proposed architecture should be discussed with BAS-IP before development begins.
What Is Not Included in Mobile SDK?
Mobile SDK does not replicate every feature of the BAS-IP Link app. For example, it does not include guest QR code generation or amenity booking, although both features are available in the standard Link app.
Guest QR code generation and amenity booking are available through BAS-IP Link API. If these functions are required in the partner’s own mobile app, they can be implemented through an additional integration with BAS-IP Link.
Both tools can be used within the same project. The platform’s back-end manages residents and their access permissions through Link API, while the mobile app uses Mobile SDK to receive door entry calls and release doors.
Server-side integration scenarios are covered in more detail in our BAS-IP Link API article. Before development begins, it is worth listing all the required scenarios and deciding which integration tool will handle each one.
How Much Does BAS-IP Mobile SDK Cost?
By default, BAS-IP does not charge a separate fee for access to Mobile SDK, its documentation or technical support during integration.
BAS-IP Link and other products are still licensed under their standard terms, while UKEY mobile credentials are purchased separately from BAS-IP or its distributors.
If a project requires additional development by BAS-IP or a change in development priorities, the commercial terms are agreed separately.
The project budget should also account for the partner’s own development work, infrastructure, testing and ongoing application maintenance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which iOS and Android Versions Are Supported?
The current minimum supported versions are specified in the SDK technical documentation.
Requirements change as mobile operating systems evolve, so developers should check them before starting the integration and whenever the libraries are updated.
Is There a Public Sandbox?
There is no shared public sandbox.
With BAS-IP Link Self-Hosted, the partner deploys Link in its own environment and uses that installation for development.
Test licence and hardware arrangements are agreed according to the requirements of each project.
How Are SDK Updates Provided?
The necessary SDK updates are provided as part of the technical support for the integration.
The partner’s development team plans when to apply the updates, test the changes and release a new version of its application.
Want to Add Video Door Entry to Your App?
Email the BAS-IP integrations team at [email protected] or submit an enquiry through the contact form.
You do not need to prepare a detailed technical specification before getting in touch. A brief description of your app and the required functionality is enough.
For example:
“We have a resident app for iOS and Android. We want residents to receive video calls from BAS-IP entrance panels and release the door during a call.”
Or:
“We want to add Bluetooth mobile access. We plan to purchase UKEY credentials and issue activation QR codes to residents.”
If the equipment and BAS-IP Link configuration have already been defined, include those details.
This will help the discussion move forward more quickly. The BAS-IP team can advise which components are needed, what infrastructure may be required and how to obtain the SDK.