
Lockitron: Keyless entry using your phone - tylerhowarth
https://lockitron.com/preorder
======
pg
We use Lockitron on our offices and it has saved us a lot of trouble.
Empirically people are a lot less likely to forget their phone than to forget
keys, presumably because you use your phone for so many other things whereas
most keys do nothing but get you into a single building.

~~~
larrys
"Empirically people are a lot less likely to forget their phone than to forget
keys,"

That also varies on whether you drive a car or take public transportation.

If you drive, leaving your house requires taking your keys and it becomes a
habit. Same with leaving work. If you drove there you need your keys to leave.

A good way around forgetting keys also is a realtor style lockbox either on
the door or hidden with a spare key.

~~~
rdl
Yeah, I forget my phone way more than I forget keys, because I need the keys
to open (NFC/HID) the door to the garage and to use the car. I use a deadbolt
so I can't lock myself out of the apartment, but also can't go into the garage
without keys, and I ~never go out the front door. I end up leaving my phone
docked in my car about 10% of the time by accident, though.

The key (heh) to not forgetting anything, though, is to have a consistent set
of pockets for things -- I always keep keys+knife, flashlight, wallet+cash,
iphone in specific pockets. The only times I get screwed up is when I wear
clothing without the right layout of pockets.

~~~
tomsaffell
Totally agreed on the pocket layout - don't know what i'd do without my cargo
pants/shorts - must be an engineer thing... <http://xkcd.com/806/>

------
rdl
Wow, I'm amazed that they got wifi to work in the lock itself, vs. using a
low-power thing like Zigbee to a base station with AC power.

Also, BT 4.0 LE is perfect for this -- since there's no NFC in the iPhone 5, I
suspect BT 4.0 LE will end up taking the place of NFC for a lot of "heavier
duty" NFC applications -- not that the Bluetooth protocol is great or elegant,
but it's a lot easier to work with than NFC, and now BT 4.0 LE exists on both
major smartphone platforms.

All my earlier criticism of not having a local ACL and local RF communication
to the lock, vs. going to/from the Internet, is now resolved.

The only thing they're missing is a BT 4.0 LE dongle (which I've seen on
Kickstarter called "hone" [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/690528216/hone-
for-iphon...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/690528216/hone-for-
iphone-4s-never-lose-your-keys-again) \-- you could put that on your keyring
and use it as an expensive HID proxcard replacement. Same thing works for
electronic leash.

Now all they need to do is support 5-10 locksets in some kind of private/small
business network (vs. putting in a HID access control system), for 0-99 users,
and they'll be really innovative. Managing a single door with 0-5 people is
comparatively easy; managing an office with turnover is a lot harder, and
businesses would happily pay $1-2k for a system to cover their doors and
employees with a nice LDAP/AD/FB/etc. interface.

Since you can upload your own firmware, it would be entirely possible for a
customer to build this.

------
trotsky
relies on

    
    
      your phone working
      2.4 Ghz
      your internet connection
      your power
      their datacenter
      their website software
    

to avoid carrying a key?

anyone in the area could easily ddos off your wireless more or less
permanently by spamming disconnect.

doesn't seem like a very good risk/reward ratio to me.

whats the problem with a more traditional (read local) keyless approach? door
too thick?

~~~
TeMPOraL
> relies on

> (...)

> their datacenter

> their website software

This is a thing I find increasingly bewildering/disturbing about new hacks
like that. Why do we route signals around the whole world to communicate two
devices that are few meters apart? Also, having to go through third party's
computer infrastructure sounds like a huge waste of resources. Bluetooth, NFC
or WLANs are the tools we should be using.

~~~
jlgreco
(I think the traditional wording of the phrase is a tad harsh, but..) I think
it is a case of _"When you_ really _love your hammer, everything looks like a
nail."_

~~~
netcan
I like analogies that aren't _necessarily_ dismissive.

How about _If you're a carpenter, you tend to make things out of wood."_

You can make a lot of stuff out of wood, if you're good. You need relatively
few general purpose tools. It's not always the best, but in many cases it's
good enough. The first Apple had a wooden body. Early cars too.

Technology is giving us a lot of stuff which we call "tools" but we might also
call "materials." Like physical tools and materials, they all take time to
learn and much longer to understand well. Sometimes we use chisels & planks
when welding pipes or casting iron would be better because we have a
woodworking setup in the garage.

~~~
jlgreco
Good call. The feel of that analogy is closer to what I had in mind.

------
cjoh
I've been using a MiCasa Verde[1], alongside the compatible KwikSet
Deadbolts[2], an android app called Automator to accomplish the same thing.
It's actually a little pricier but you get:

a. Remote entry -- unlock your door from afar. b. A nice home automation
system (mine's expanded to control lights and thermostat now) c. Keypad and
key-entry as backups

I love it. Being able to remotely lock and unlock your doors is super handy,
whether it be for guests, contractors or what not. But what's really handy?
Never worrying about locking yourself out of your house again.

If I could just get rid of my car key, I'd be thrilled.

[1]<http://micasaverde.com/> [2]<http://amzn.to/QGn2Im>

~~~
cjoh
The integration with other things is a big deal fwiw. I'm currently playing
with NFC and doing things like "when I tap my phone on my night stand, make
sure all the doors are locked and turn off all the lights except for the
bedroom"

We're headed towards the Internet of Things but right now they're all sort of
talking with their own software. A house with the Nest thermometer and the
Lockitron lock won't be able to execute on the scenario I described above --
and if you're a homeowner you may want to think more long term than investing
in one-off solutions for every latest thing a chip goes in to.

------
cwe
Unikey[1] on Shark Tank last season blew me away, I couldn't wait to see it in
action, and be available. This looks like an easier installation process than
that, but Unikey has some big names attached to it (Black & Decker). Can't
wait to see this tech take off, good luck guys!

[1] <http://www.unikeytech.com/>

------
psychotik
Why not use a lock with a keycode instead? I don't see a single scenario where
Lockitron works better.

[http://consumer.schlage.com/Products/Pages/category-
landing....](http://consumer.schlage.com/Products/Pages/category-
landing.aspx?category=Electronic+Keypad+Locks)

~~~
plusbryan
For me, it'd be about guest access. Sure, you could give out your codes, and
then change them later, but that's a pain (with the Schlage products at
least).

~~~
psychotik
FWIW, I find it simple enough to add/remove codes as needed. I can see how
punching ~15 buttons can be a pain, but I don't find it so.

~~~
veemjeem
I think the main benefit here is that it works with your existing lock, so it
could work on apartments, dorm rooms, office doors, etc. Those key code
deadlocks have always existed, but never very popular.

~~~
khairulzaman
In the US, maybe. Here in Seoul it's everywhere. Practically all apartment
units come with them pre-installed.

------
klinquist
As a renter - the fact that it will now clip onto my existing lock is huge.

------
bluetidepro
So, do people who use something like this just never lock your bottom handle
lock? I live in a busy city and lock both to keep my place secure. I'm not
sure I would like just being able to lock the deadbolt but not the handle
lock.

~~~
plusbryan
Having taken a lock picking course, I can say that one lock is approximately
the same security as two - even after 15 minutes of instruction, with the
right tools I could unlock most any standard house lock in moments.

Home door locks are a deterrent more than anything else, so I'd opt for
convenience.

~~~
jeltz
This is not true everywhere. For example here in Sweden the second lock is
usually a lever tumbler lock or some variant thereof. Way harder to pick than
pin tumbler locks. What matters is the type of lock, not the number of locks.

------
rflrob
Looks like a really cool product, but as a note to the marketing department:
the product itself looks just a little bit too much like an iPhone. I got
confused for a moment, and thought the device _was_ an iPhone with a picture
of the deadbolt on it. There's probably a way to make the materials somewhat
clearer that the Lockitron is the big square bit, and not the C-shaped
mounting adapter.

~~~
watty
Are you kidding me? The only similarity to an iPhone is the rectangular shape.

~~~
wr1472
Isn't that close enough for getting a court order to ban sales?

------
larrys
Right now, the website is down or perhaps cloudflare is having issues.

I did get a look and was going to make a comment (which I wanted to verify)
that the site in no way shows that the company had built another product (at
least not from a quick look).

Now I can't even get a look at the site. This isn't 1996. Why are people
having so many issues with delivering simple reliability to a 1 page website?

~~~
tylerhowarth
This is their second product. The original Lockitron came out in 2011 or so. I
know many people who installed them in their offices.

------
MicahWedemeyer
I installed a punch code deadbolt on our front door. It has been a life-
changing experience. I need neither phone nor keys and never worry about being
locked out. I just have to replace the batteries every couple years.

One of the biggest improvements, not offered by the Lockitron, is the lack of
needing to fumble in your pockets for anything. If you've got a handful of
groceries, it's much easier to shift a bag or two to get a hand free and punch
the code than it is to go digging in your pockets.

~~~
runaway
> _One of the biggest improvements, not offered by the Lockitron, is the lack
> of needing to fumble in your pockets for anything_

Did you watch the full video? This version of Lockitron has proximity-based
keyless entry like some cars do. No need to reach into your pockets or punch
in a code.

------
apawloski
Cool and interesting idea, but for obvious reasons* I have some slight
reluctance with using a service like this for my home. For less valuable
targets though -- like a conference room or shared workspace -- this is a
really clever solution to sharing keys.

*I hate it when people say that so I'll expand. Simply put, I'm worried about it getting hacked. For instance, could you gain access to someone's wifi and then flash a new image (which includes a rogue key) onto the device?

~~~
schiffern
Your threat model seems a bit out of whack. Picking your conventional lock has
a much better cost/benefit ratio for a thief.

~~~
nickbarnwell
Breaking a window is actually a far more effective (and common) method of
entry for thieves than bothering to pick a lock.

------
polshaw
_> We won’t charge your card until your Lockitron is ready_

Interesting.. so you don't even need the money for the first production run,
pure crowd-hype marketing. Also very ballsy of YC to sidestep kickstarter like
this.. although i suppose 1000 pre-sales isn't huge.

As for the product, some nice feature improvements over v1.0, although i'm not
a fan of the new plasticy design-- i would not want to see that thing on my
door unless I had to, for any price.

~~~
arkonaut
i think this is quite smart. it's not just the hype, but similar to app.net,
it's guaranteeing there is a minimum threshold of demand.

what do you mean by 'ballsy to sidestep kickstarter.' has kickstarter become
some kind of sole-arbiter of product development? FWIW, if this style of
e-commerce continues, someone should develop the API for this/app.net type of
sales instead of each building the billing system from scratch.

~~~
polshaw
Kickstarter is definitely the existing sole-arbiter of crowd sourcing funding.
They have brought massive crowds to YC companies so i think it is a
significant move to walk away from that to save 5%.

------
tripngroove
We used Lockitron at the Cloudkick office. Super convenient, as it let anyone
at the office buzz a guest/delivery through our outer door without leaving
their desk. Also awesome: the ability to give visitors temporary access
without having to keep track of making keys, ensuring they're returned, blah
blah blah. Lockitron eliminated the dumb, day-to-day-headache-type-stuff
involved in getting people in and out of our space.

------
codinghorror
Kudos to the team. This looks fantastic, and I love that it's a v2 product!
Preordering now.

It could be more clear that the lockitron does two very interesting things, I
had to watch the video to figure them out:

\- knock detection via microphone so you know someone is at the door (awesome)

\- auto-unlock based on nearby phone presence (presumably bluetooth) so you
can just walk into your house.

If it works like it's supposed to, this is seriously great.

------
stretchwithme
I'd be fine with keyless entry over the web if it only worked when I have in
my pocket something it also must detect in order to open.

And when I actually do want to open it remotely, I get a call with a code I
can enter. In other words, some sort of 2 step authentication.

And I want to be notified by the app every time that door opens if I am not
using the app right then to open it.

------
ruswick
Is this a neat idea? Sure. But it's nowhere near $150 worth of value. (And,
based on their "limited time" copy, it's likely going to rise to a more
egregious price in the future.) I'm actually dumbstruck that they've sold 2500
of these. Admittedly, not having leave your couch to lock up or being able to
check the status of your locks remotely is by all means a nice offering, but
for the price, it's just not worth it.

Incidentally, this is also just a workaround. It's a hack. It's likely not to
work in all homes or with all locks.

Moreover, this thing will likely look out of place and fairly undesirable on
most doors, especially on older buildings.

An actual installable lock would be incredibly more compelling due to the fact
that it will be less bulky and intrusive.

~~~
yinyinwu
I think this is a great idea, and would be really useful for any place where
you need to give a lot of people access to the building. If you're renting
your home out through Airbnb, being able to give people temp access to your
home would be really convenient and also safer than giving them a physical key
that they can copy. If you're renting out an apartment or office, lockitron
will save the landlord from having to rekey the building after each tenant.
The $150 cost is easily recouped if you consider the cost of getting new
locks. When I'm expecting the maid to come over to my house, I would love to
give them remote access if I'm not home. I'd expect the look of the lock to
change substantially with updates, but the conveniences it brings is pretty
amazing.

------
cs702
Great idea. However, I can't help but think that if Lockitron gains meaningful
adoption, the various organized-crime groups operating on the web will try to
hack the company's backend retrieve lock usage and location data or even gain
the ability remotely to open customer locks. (Criminals already pay for stolen
credit card information on the web; they would readily pay for lock usage and
location data too. How valuable would it be for thieves to know when other
people in their own city leave their homes?)

I would want to understand how Lockitron might use and secure my lock-usage,
location, and other personal information before using the device and service
to lock anything important, like my office or my house.

~~~
watty
Credit cards can be used by any thief, hacking tools cannot. A Lockitron hack
tool would likely be more in the realm of Metasploit. I'm not saying there
won't be hackers/thieves who could do it, just comparing to stolen credit
cards is silly.

------
ssharp
It's pretty obvious that more and more things are converging to the phone.
We've already seen how modern smartphones have markets like the point-and-
shoot camera and portable music player. It makes sense to carry around one
device that does as much as possible. And I love the extension of the
smartphone into these home automation areas (though I realize locks have a
significantly greater market than just that). What troubles me right now is
the fracturing, but that's inevitable in emerging markets. It would just be
nice to have a really great product line that I could use to unlock deadbolts,
open my garage door, automate my lights, control switches / outlets, program
my thermostat, etc.

------
Wistar
When I saw that this thing fits over my existing deadbolt two things came to
mind and in this order:

1\. Wow, that device must have a lot of torque as many deadbolts, mine for
example, actually requires some effort to turn, either to lock or unlock. This
resistance is caused mainly by the springiness of the weather stripping which
pushes back against the door when it is closed.

2\. Sometimes, when sunlight falls upon—and heats—the door I need to push or
pull slightly on the door in order to turn the deadbolt at all. The door is
not dimensionally stable and deadbolt alignment changes. This makes me think
that the system would not be reliable. I know my door and deadbolt are not
unique in this regard.

------
zacharycohn
Ahhh crap. I have been building this exact thing in my garage as we speak.

Too slow! Well played, Lockitron.

~~~
MortenK
There is always room for one more on the market.

------
imtu80
I cannot drive to work if I forget my keys. However, I have following idea. A
cell phone case with an imbedded radio frequency chip that communicates with
your key chain. The purpose of the device is to alert you if get too far away
from your phone. This two way radio will not only help you locate your phone,
but you can use it to locate your keys as well. You will be able to preset an
approximate range boundary which will cause the case/keys to beep when they
are too far apart. If you are close to the phone but can not see it, you can
make the phone beep by pressing a button.

------
elviejo
Really nice product can't wait to see it in production. One insignificant
caveat: I don't like the interface on the phone to lock unlock. Why use two
images, the lock and unlock padlock when one image would suffice.

------
com2kid
It all sounded good until the "SMS" part. SMS messages are not encrypted and
it is possible to sniff them (albeit it is not the simplest thing to do, but
it is possible). Of course no one will have your actual house address, unless
they cross reference your cell phone number with Facebook!

Granted the risk there seems small, basically limited to people without a
smart phone who are also in the market for a smart gadget like this.

It is good to see that this is disabled by default, but it seems like a really
unnecessary security hole.

------
savrajsingh
We use lockitron at the Tigerlabs co-working space in Princeton. It's awesome!
The provisioning, the ease of use, and the reliability are amazing. The team
has done a great job of focusing on, and absolutely nailing the future-of-
locks scenario. We've been happily using Lockitron 1 -- Lockitron 2 appears to
eliminate the 'base station' and the custom lock, and now works with your
existing lock. All Airbnb's and Co-working spaces need this. ;)

~~~
catch23
Does the 4-AA batteries actually last a full year? I'm not sure how those
batteries can maintain a steady wifi connection and survive for a full year.
The lowest power wifi chips I know still draw 40mA in RX mode.

~~~
paulgerhardt
Continuously connected? No. We'd last about two weeks.

We poll infrequently during off hours and more frequently when people are
likely to be coming and going. Knocking also wakes it up.

Bluetooth 4.0 gets us the rest of the way. It's instant for iPhone 4s and 5
users and we should have rudimentary support for the Android devices with BT4
by March.

~~~
catch23
So what happens when a packet is sent when you're in sleep mode? Does the
device have to renegotiate the connection when waking up?

What if you sold a separate device that plugged in the wall and had a constant
wifi connection, then used BT4 for communicating with the lock powered by
4xAA? Then you wouldn't even need wifi on the lock.

Also, why an arduino mega? Are you using that many I/O pins or is it because
your code needs the 256KB of flash?

~~~
profgubler
I don't think they are using an Arduino Mega. They are using the same
processor that an Arduino uses which is the Atmel ATmega, which is a very
common processor for microcontrollers.

~~~
catch23
I'm guessing you're not accustomed to the arduino parlance. Everyone knows
arduino uses an atmel atmega uC, but when you say "arduino mega" it means
something specific. I have around 5 different models of atmega chips at home
that I use with the arduino.

In the video they said they were using a mega, and you can tell from the
picture that the atmel chip is a surface mount similar to the 2560. All the
arduino chips use some kind of atmega variant, but the arduino mega refers to
the atmega1280 or the atmega2560. The most common arduino chip is the
atmega328p.

The atmega series is fairly broad. The arduinos only use a subset of the
atmega series. "mega" is probably a bit confusing, but if you say "arduino
mega" it only refers to one or two specific chips -- the old "arduino mega"
used the atmega1280 while the newer model uses the atmega2560.

------
bking
So what happens when your lock requires holding the door with pressure to have
the bolt slide freely? Does it just not lock, or does it tell you it won't
lock?

------
philwebster
I made this point in another comment, but here it is again:

This product can be about much more than solving the problem of forgetting
your keys. People with limited dexterity (such as my father, a quadriplegic)
would love a product like this. When leaving the house, he would be able to
make a few taps on an iPad to lock things up. Right now we don't use a lock
because it's behind a garage door, but this would allow us much more
flexibility.

------
akavi
Is this their official launch? The company I've worked for has had one for a
while...

Regardless, I'm a fan. The fact that granting and revoking access is so
trivial meant that when I was an intern I still had full ability to come and
go regardless of the presence of a fulltimer (contrasting with other
internships, where hesitance to give interns keys meant if I showed up too
early I had to sit on my butt till someone arrived to let me in).

------
jared314
I love the idea, but, now, when I loose my phone I will be cashless, unable to
call someone for help, and locked out of my home.

I also hope they salt their password hashes.

------
MatthewB
We use Lockitron at the 500startups offices. It worked well most of the time.
The few times it didn't work was very annoying and I had to rely on someone
else to open the door for me (from the inside). As long as you have a
secondary option for opening the door, it's a great product.

~~~
dfc
_" As long as you have a secondary option for opening the door, it's a great
product."_

I can't tell if that is sarcasm?

------
spamizbad
This looks really cool.

One issue with the video around 0:40... Lockitron really needs to buy their
hardware engineers some eye protection and magnification devices. You should
never solder up close like that without eye protection. What they show in the
video probably violates OSHA guidelines.

------
hackermani
Kudos to the team. This is not a solution for everyone, but there are places
(Airbnb, shared access, renter, maybe hotel) where this concept could be
invaluable. Even if not for my main door I could use it on the side door to
allow multiple access for my family and kids.

------
klinquist
Lockitron guys: I would love a similar device for my garage door! Perhaps even
integrated into one since most front door deadbolts are going to be within
range of a garage door opener. It could support standard Genie/Liftmaster and
get 80% of the market.

------
andreipop
Haha this reminded me of our fb hackathon project. wrote about it here a while
back: [http://designcodelearn.com/2012/06/01/i-was-the-worst-
coder-...](http://designcodelearn.com/2012/06/01/i-was-the-worst-coder-in-the-
room/)

------
andyjsong
Lockitron even mentions that AirBnB is a great fit + they are both YC
companies. Why isn't there a partnership already established between the two
companies? Lockitron should be contacting all of AirBnB's most rented property
owners to buy the lock.

------
jmjerlecki
This looks great. Would love to see a version that has a camera on the front
of lockitron so I can see who is at my front door. It sounds incredibly lazy,
but being able to open the app and see who is at my front door would prove
useful.

~~~
andyjsong
since there is a knock sensor, maybe have a usb camera hooked up to the lock
and the camera looking out of the peephole or aimed at the entrance.

------
bond
Our company developed a product where you can enter a place just by calling a
specific number. If your number is on the registered number's database it will
unlock the door...

Don't know why they don't do it like that instead of having to send a text...

~~~
Lexarius
How do you deal with caller ID spoofing?

------
mmmmax
Hey, I just backed Lockitron, question:

Will Sense work with multiple phones at a time?

------
plusbryan
Looks great, but I'm reticent to replace my mortise-style door lock. Maybe
future versions will support this type of lock? Other than sizing
considerations, I don't see why not.

------
jamest
We use Lockitron on the Firebase office door. I highly recommend it. Giving
access to new employees is a couple of clicks, rather than making & tracking a
new physical key.

------
stlhood
We used the alpha version of Lockitron for over a year at Blockboard's office.
Once it was set up everything ran smoothly. We loved it. The final version
looks even slicker.

------
pitt1980
wasn't there a shark tank where something similar was pitched? Thought he said
he had patents protecting the idea, who knows what that covered

[http://today.ucf.edu/ucf-engineering-alum-
lands-500000-deal-...](http://today.ucf.edu/ucf-engineering-alum-
lands-500000-deal-on-shark-tank-finale/)

[http://abc.go.com/watch/shark-
tank/SH559076/VD55203511/week-...](http://abc.go.com/watch/shark-
tank/SH559076/VD55203511/week-15)

------
bcx
We have one of these for our office too, and it works great :-). My only
problem is that I want one for my apartment too, so I can stop carrying keys
altogether.

------
samstave
Personally, I would really like to see this attacked by TOOL and Schuyler
Towne to see how vulnerable it is.

I love the idea of this device, but I also love seeing locks defeated.

------
MortenK
What happens if the iPhone runs out of battery? The site says it still works
if you have "lost power", but I assume this means in the household?

~~~
maxmcd
I assume you could still use a key. Nothing seems to be covering the deadbolt
lock on the outside of the door. I have the same problem with two-factor
authentication though, I guess you'll just always need a backup.

------
sly010
Today if I loose my keys, I call a locksmith with my phone and pay him with my
credit card.

A year from now if my phone runs out of battery, I am homeless. :)

------
tosh
We're using lockitron at the apartments we stay in San Francisco. It works
like a charm. Thinking about getting one for back home :)

------
showerst
Neat idea, but what makes this worth 150 bucks?

~~~
peterwwillis
If you've never lost your house keys twice ($75 per visit for a locksmith)
then it's not worth it. However, you could give multiple people access to the
door this way, which would be cheaper/easier than making copies of keys.

Also, with normal keys if you lose one you have to replace the cylinder and
all the keys if you're worried about someone using the lost key. This would
prevent that expense.

I will say, though: if $150 is the _discount_ price, i'm afraid to learn what
the regular price is. Businesses seem like the only place this becomes cost
effective.

~~~
showerst
Ah, that makes sense to me.

I hadn't thought about the multiple people access problem since I've never
needed more than one set of guest keys at a time, and the offices I've worked
in were all big enough to use keycards.

Come to think of it, the market for 'Needs to give multiple people rotating
revocable access' is a great fit for AirBnB type services.

------
iAinsley
Kickstarter project, without the kickstarter! It's kickstarter-lite. umm - did
the value of Kickstarter just go down? ;)

~~~
RandallBrown
I believe this is ACTUALLY a preorder, rather than an investment that includes
a "prize" if they actually succeed.

~~~
paulgerhardt
It's so we know how many to make. We won't charge anyone's card until they are
ready to ship.

~~~
rdl
I'd seriously consider doing kickstarter too -- once you've got 250-500
preorders outside kickstarter, and popularity on HN, you should be in a great
position to have an "overfunded" kickstarter. Yes, they take a cut, but the
exposure from kickstarter is probably worth it -- just bump prices 10% if you
must.

I know I buy a lot of gadgets I might not otherwise know about due to seeing
them in my activity feed on kickstarter.

Seemed to work well for Pebble...

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icelancer
I usually hate these gimmicks, but my god, this is extremely well done. Really
need to consider it...

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run4yourlives
The best part about this entire thing is that you can use it on top of an
existing lock. Genius.

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Semaphor
Sadly most doors in Germany have a normal key access installed on the inside
as well :/

~~~
gwillen
Those have become less popular in the US with rising fire-safety awareness, I
think. (They are likely to trap inhabitants in the event of a fire.)

Given that the device claims to work with almost any deadbolt, and therefore
can't be too picky about shape, my guess is it wouldn't be hard to adapt it
for your lock. (Just permanently install a key with some handle attached to it
for the device to grip.)

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Norlan1123
patent issue, anyone?

[http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/22/after-surviving-the-
shark-t...](http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/22/after-surviving-the-shark-tank-
unikey-technologies-raises-1-1m-in-equity-funding/)

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lambersley
I'm trying to figure out what _real_ business problem this solves. Help

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scragg
Anyone else notice one of the engineers does not blink in the video?

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DannoHung
Looks neat. Don't think it'll work with my deadbolt though :(

~~~
apawloski
Here's the supported lock types: <https://lockitron.com/help/compatibility>

It looks like this is compatible with through-hole deadbolts, but not rim
deadbolts.

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georgespencer
We have one of these for our office. It's great.

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aprasad
I'd like something like this for my car.

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tylerritchie
How long do the batteries last?

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jcarden
Lockitron user here. Love it!

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thechut
Was this a YC company?

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wprater
ripe for airbnb acquisition.

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FredBrach
Nice one (idea): in my pockets, I've still an iphone, a bunch of keys, credit
cards and a pass card for the office...

