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Although it's several years old, currently making the blog rounds is the BOLT line of locks. BOLT is an acroynm for Breakthrough One-key Lock Technology, and their line-up's key (ha) feature is that rather than coming with a set of keys, the locks "learn" your key, meaning that's one less key you have to carry around. Here's how it works:
Pretty cool, no? Alas, the Internet giveth, and the Internet taketh away. Here's a vid of someone picking the lock:
I called up a fellow Pratt grad and locksmith buddy to get to the bottom of the Bolt: What's the deal, is it a bum lock, or is the one in the video a fluke?
"For the guy to pick it like he did in the video, the lock has to use what's called a single tier of pins," my friend reported. "And locks with a single tier of pins are pickable."
I asked him if that means all keyed locks are pickable.
"Nope," he said. "Mul-T-Locks use two tiers of pins, you can't pick those. And Medeco locks have pins that go off on different angles, which you'd have to pick in three dimensions—meaning you can't."
(My friend, by the way, took pains to point out that he does not have any direct experience with Bolt locks, and his statements above are drawn from his experience in the biz.)
I suppose all locks can be busted open if not picked, which is why my friend gets phone calls for jobs. Still, I like the idea of a lock that can learn keys, to minimize that jingle-jangle in my pocket, and I hope they work out the kinks.
Comments
You can pick Medecos. I think the technique is actually pretty interesting http://hackaday.com/2008/07/29/medeco-high-security-lock-picking/
I'm surprised how fast he picked the bolt lock. I wonder if the shape of the key you encode it with makes some of the of them more vulnerable.
The shape does matter, the key in the video is cut special and not representative of a production key code. The shape of that notch pattern looks like an arrow which would allow for an easy pick. I believe that this locksmith may know a lot about sidebar locks and could have easily manufactured this key to help demonstrate his point. All locks can be picked but this one is a automotive grade cylinder and it is as secure as the lock on your vehicle.