Biking is supposed to be a convenient and relaxing way to get around, but so many bikers are saddled with the mental and physical baggage of trying to prevent theft. Some cyclists take their front tires with them when they lock their bikes up; others remove the seats. In most cases, they carry a big lock wherever they go to secure the bike at their destination.

Seatylock is a novel answer to the worries of cyclists everywhere. It integrates a lock right into the bike’s seat, eliminating extra baggage while making it easy to keep your bike safe from thieving miscreants.

When you get to where you’re going, the entire seat comes off of the bike frame. Stowed underneath are a few metal arms that fold out to become a lock which loops around a bike rack or the nearest stable object. A quick lock with a small key and your bike is secure – all told, it takes about 30 seconds to remove the seat and secure the lock.

The Seatylock comes with an adapter that lets it fit onto just about any bike, and is available in both “trekking” and “comfort” models to suit your specific biking habits. A special safety adapter ensures that your seat won’t go wobbling off of its post mid-ride.

The team behind the unconventional lock clearly had a great time testing its strength if the video above is any indication. The Seatylock couldn’t be broken by chain cutters, a saw, or ice spray and a mallet. It can stand up to .6 tons of pressure, which is definitely strong enough to deter any hoodlums from taking off with your ride. Kickstarter pledges starting at $75 will get you a Seatylock of your own.

The post Safety Seat: Ingenious Bike Seat Transforms Into a Lock first appeared on Gajitz.

Coming home from a night of celebrating, you might find yourself at a loss when you try to get back into your house. If you can figure out which key is the right one, fitting it into that confusing little slot may require more motor skills than you possess at that moment. It’s no problem if you’ve got the V Lock (created by designer Junjie Zhang) installed.

The V Lock is just a regular door lock that includes a V-shaped channel extending from the very top to the keyhole. This channel makes it simple to find the keyhole by providing a direct path for the key to follow. This innovation isn’t only for people who’ve had a bit too much to drink, however – it can also be helpful for vision-impaired people or those whose motor skills have degraded enough to make activities like unlocking a door difficult.

The post Groovy Lock Makes it Easier to Get Home After a Night Out first appeared on Gajitz.

Digital devices are swiftly overtaking their analog counterparts, and that includes the locks on our cars and homes. Goji is a smart lock that opens your door with a smartphone from anywhere in the world, but it also does something rather unusual: it takes a picture of the person unlocking the door. You, the owner/administrator of the lock, get a text alert and email immediately showing the picture.

This feature is invaluable for parents who want to make sure their kids get home from school safely, or for people who want to make sure their housesitters aren’t having crazy parties while they’re away. The Goji easily connects in place of a deadbolt, then hooks up to your wi-fi network. Every user has a unique electronic key, so the Goji greets them by name every time they open the door.

Electronic keys can be issued permanently, temporarily, or only for certain days or times of the day, such as for dog walkers or housekeepers. If those people with temporary keys start abusing their access, you can immediately revoke any of the keys. Special fobs can be used in place of smartphones to open the lock for people who don’t routinely carry smartphones. And in the event that you lose your smartphone AND your fob, the lock can be opened with a regular key that fits into a keyhole hidden behind the Goji’s display.

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The DoorBot is a cool way to stay secure in your own home; by bringing a live streaming view of your front doorstep to your mobile device, it lets you see exactly who is ringing your doorbell. The wireless system was developed by Edison Junior, a four-person design lab dedicated to solving everyday problems. With a wi-fi enabled doorbell unit and a free app, the company has made it possible to answer the door remotely from anywhere in the world.

A doorbell unit with an integrated camera is the DoorBot’s claim to fame, and the way it revolutionizes the very simple act of answering a door. When a visitor pushes the button, the resident receives a notification on a synced mobile phone or tablet. The user can talk to the visitor via the mobile device’s microphone, which would be infinitely helpful when telling delivery people to leave a package on the stoop or informing friends to join the party in the back yard.

An optional door lock also lets homeowners lock or unlock the door from anywhere in the world. The Lockitron is another product in the early stages of production that can be ordered – and easily integrated – with the DoorBot’s interface. With the two products working together, users can see who is at the door and decide whether or let them in…all without even being in the house. DoorBot is raising funds for its production run on a new crowdfunding site called Christie Street. $169 gets you the DoorBot while $319 is enough for both the DoorBot and the Lockitron.

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When you really think about it, the key is sort of an archaic thing. It’s just a shaped piece of metal that interacts with other pieces of metal to secure our doors, desks, cars and other important stuff. These three awesome inventions could make that archaic bit of metal totally obsolete.

UniKey

The UniKey is an app and a dedicated lock that offers unprecedented flexibility and freedom. Instead of carrying around a key, the lock opens with an app on your iPhone, Blackberry or Android phone. The lock gets the signal from your phone as you approach, then all you have to do is touch the lock to open it. Temporary codes can be created for visiting friends, then deactivated when their visit is over.

Visitor codes can even be set to work only at certain times or on certain days, and any keys given out can be revoked at any time. The special lock also comes with a physical key just in case you get home and find your phone is dead. And if you don’t have a smartphone at all, a Bluetooth fob – kind of like the one that unlocks your car doors – can be used instead.

Grabit

Grabit works without the need to carry anything extra at all. It is a door handle that incorporates a fingerprint scanner, but in a slightly different – and much improved – manner compared to existing fingerprint scanning door locks.

Instead of holding up a finger to be scanned and then reaching down to open the door, the Grabit lets you open the door in one fluid movement by placing the scanner on the handle itself. You grab the handle in a natural motion and it reads your fingerprint, then instantly unlocks for you.

“Skeleton” Key

An AT&T Labs concept would use the human body itself to open locked doors. The system would use piezoelectric transducers embedded in smartphones or wristwatches to communicate with receivers in door handles. The signal would be transmitted through the human skeleton itself. Due to differences in size and density, each skeleton would transmit signals differently – so if the right signal is transmitted through the right skeleton, the door will open like magic.

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