Skylock solar powered lock

Skylock solar powered lock

Skylock smart bike lock offers security, sharing. Velo Labs has come up with a bike lock that alerts owners to possible thefts, alerts emergency responders to possible crashes, and has a keyless entry that lets users share bikes Airbnb-style.

Is this this future of bicycle locks? The Skylock is a solar powered lock packed with technology, including Bluetooth and WiFi so you can lock and unlock it from your smartphone, and the ability to alert its owner if somebody is trying to steal your bike. It’s happened to far too many people — you lock up your bike, meet a friend or grab a bite, and come back only to find your ride stripped down or gone.

Well, Velo Labs has decided to do something about it. Drawing on its founders Boeing and Jawbone engineering expertise, this startup has invented the Skylock smart bike lock.

At first glance, Skylock just looks like a shiny U-lock, but a closer look reveals so much more. There’s a solar powered rechargeable battery, theft and crash alerts, keyless entry, and even the possibility of Airbnb-style bike sharing.

“As a former engineer at Boeing, I have spent years working on tanks, helicopters and aircrafts, and while these forms of transportation have made huge leaps in safety and connectivity the bike is still stuck in the 19th century,” Velo Labs co-founder Jack Al-Kahwati said in a statement. “We wanted to take on the challenge of bringing cycling into the future.”

Skylock works in conjunction with a smartphone app, either iOS or Android. Users can use their phones to lock and unlock their bikes, add other users, and toy with the settings to receive alerts if their bike is jostled while out-of-sight. The theft alert system works with either Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. And, if the lock’s internal accelerometer senses a severe impact while a rider is on the bike, it has the ability to alert emergency responders.

Amazon Reviews

Skylock you don’t need any keys or a good memory with this lock, Skylock uses Bluetooth 4.0 so you can use a smartphone app to lock and unlock it. You can even use Auto-Unlock so when you get close to your locked up bike it will automatically unlock, just like the latest cars with keyless entry. Don’t worry, if your phone battery goes flat because you’ve been playing Angry Birds too much, there is a backup combination lock.

Accelerometers are used to alert its owner if somebody is tampering with the lock. To do that you connect the Skylock to a local WiFi network, so you can stay connected to it at all times. Even if you’re 10 floors up in your office. The sensitivity of the accelerometer can be adjusted so the slightest movement doesn’t set it off.

The other neat trick the Accelerometers can be used for is to alert for help if you have a crash while riding. They respond to the impact and if you don’t do anything within a certain time period the Skylock can send for help.

Skylock And that’s why it’s solar powered, so the battery powering the Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity doesn’t go flat. The solar panel is arranged on the outside of the lock and charges the internal battery. According to their claims it only needs one hour of sunlight to power it for a week. Could be tricky in the British winter mind. Which is why it’s just as well they’ve thought about that, and added a USB port so you can charge it from the mains or your computer.

Sounds good doesn’t it? We’re impressed. You can’t buy it just yet though, they’re currently seeking crowd funding to the tune of $50,000, but provided they meet their goal they will be shipping in early 2015. You can pre-order one now for $139 for a limited time, after which it rises to $249. You’re going to have to factor in shipping costs of course.

Skylock solar powered lock seeks funding

As far as the solar powered battery goes, just one hour of sunlight gives users enough power to last a week. Velo Labs says a fully charged battery lasts a month for most users.

Skylock isn’t the first smart bike lock. Startup Mesh Motion unveiled the BitLock keyless bike lock during its Kickstarter campaign last October. BitLock also works with iOS and Android apps via Bluetooth. However, it doesn’t use Wi-Fi and its battery is lithium rather than solar.

Velo Labs launched its own crowdfunding campaign on its website on Thursday. Its goal is to raise $50,000 to release its first batch of Skylocks. The company is offering the discounted price of $159 to backers and ultimately the device will retail for $249. Velo Labs plans to start shipping Skylock by the end of the year.

• What happens If your walking up to your bike it unlocks then some one next to it quickly grabs it and rides off ? Could you claim on insurance? your bike wasn’t locked up ? I suppose it depends on how close you need it to be to unlock it… Or could some just gently click the numbers round until it opens ? And the time you’ve gone to check your phone at lunch (because you green and cycled to work) your bike has gone….. But I suppose you can pick holes in any lock even the expensive key U locks you can open with a pen.

• Woner how long before someone hacks that!

• …then your iPhone battery runs out and you’re fucked.

• do you even read, bro? “Should your phone run out of battery, there’s still a manual combination on the lock itself”

bike lock