Welcome Skylock, a new bicycle locking system with a very good potential of making it into the motorcycle world. It’s really nice to see that more and more smart locks are being developed, with great integration with Android and iOS smartphones, and this new piece from Velo Labs is really taking things one step further.
One of the greatest things about this particular lock is that it’s solar powered, providing customers with complete peace of mind. One hour of solar exposure powers the Skylock for a week or so, while a full battery charge produces enough juice for a month’s operation, so your system will most likely never run out of power.
This is really great, as the Skylock uses Bluetooth for connecting with your smartphone. You can use the dedicated apps to lock or unlock it, but the system also provides “keyless” entry, using its proximity sensors to know when you’re near the bike. Or you can use a combination code, obviously. Given the fact that everything relies on an app, you can even grant multiple users access to your bike by simply registering them.
Skylock also has an accelerometer which can send alerts when someone messes with your bike. Even more, it can tell whether you’ve been involved in a crash. If you’re alright, you can cancel the alert on your phone. If you don’t, it will alert the emergency services.
This nifty, smart lock is available for early birds for $159 (€116) in a limited quantity, as Velo Labs is looking for a $50,000 (€36,450) crowdfunding to kick off production. Retail prices after the early bird offer expires will be $249 (€181). Needless to say, we hope it’s not going to be long until a motorcycle version is designed, as we believe it will be a very good seller. Check with Skylock to get one.
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