More and more, we’re seeing bike locks that open not with a key or combination, but with a fingerprint or Bluetooth signal. Almost all of those, however, are of the U-lock variety. What if you prefer the more compact form factor and wider reach of a folding lock? Well, that’s where the ZiiLock comes in.
Billed as “the world’s first foldable biometric bike guard,” the ZiiLock can be opened with an included key if all else fails. As long as its battery is juiced up, however, it can also be opened (within half a second) by pressing your fingertip to its fingerprint scanner, or by tapping a button on an iOS/Android app on a nearby smartphone.
Up to 20 fingerprints can be stored in its internal memory, allowing for ongoing use by multiple cyclists. Additionally, utilizing the app, users can grant temporary access to other people, allowing them to use the Bluetooth signal from their phone to open the lock.
What’s more, a built-in motion detector will cause a text alert to be sent to the user if someone should try messing with the locked and unattended bike. Additionally, if the user forgets where they parked, a GPS-based Position Tagging feature will show them the lock’s location on a city map.
The lock itself is made of 6.5-mm-thick bars of temper-hardened steel, joined together with 7-mm-diameter seamless rivets. It can reportedly withstand the destructive force of a 12-ton hydraulic cutter, it’s drill- and pick-resistant, and it folds out to a length of 98 cm (38.6 inches). A rubber coating helps protect the bike’s finish.
The electronics module, meanwhile, is IP67 waterproof (it can be submerged to a depth of 1 m/3.3 ft for 30 minutes), it incorporates military-standard AES 256 Bluetooth encryption, and can reportedly run for over three months on one charge of its lithium battery.
If you’re interested in getting a ZiiLock of your own, you can (hopefully) do so through its current Indiegogo campaign. A pledge of US$99 is required, with the planned retail price sitting at $179. If all goes according to plan, it should ship in November.