LIN (Local Interconnect Network) is a serial network protocol used for communication between components in vehicles.
LIN is a low cost communications solution as it requires only 3 connections; Ground, Power and signal. These same 3 connections can be daisy chained to multiple slave devices which is therefore much cheaper than running individual cables to each slave device.
As we say, LIN is typically used in automotive applications but there is no reason why the LIN physical layer cannot be used in other sectors which look to benefit from the reduced cabling and cost. One possible application for LIN is in banked lockers
In typical banked locker solutions the locks need to be wirelessly connected (that can include RFiD cards etc.) or they each need to be wired back to a controller to allow them to be opened and locked. In the case where they are wired to a controller this wiring can be considerable and expensive, it may be that the controller is some distance from the lockers and hence this large number of cables needs to be very long.
By using the LIN bus physical layer (PHY) and modified network protocol the amount of wiring can be reduced to just 3 cables in total while still giving full control of many locks.
In a LIN bus enabled solution the LIN bus controller would be implemented as part of the overall locker control system, perhaps in a kiosk or even remotely controlled over the internet. Secure credentials to open each lock are sent by the locker controller over the LIN bus to either all or a specifically addressed lock which would then validate the credentials and open the lock
Touché have successfully used LIN in various projects that required many slave devices to be controlled by a single master and complex wiring was not a viable option.