This sort of figures: here, we thought crowdfunding got absolutely no better than great potato salad and resurrecting a 27-season cult comedy classic about a guy and two robots taking the piss out of bad movies. Turns out, Noke is a Kickstarter-backed smartlock that minimizes versatile padlock security down to a set of Bluetooth-controlled and instantly replicated virtual keys.
The backbone of Noke’s appeal is that the programmed-by-smartphone-in-minutes lock successfully secures anything from a home’s side gate to a bicycle chain anywhere and still unlocks with one click when the connected device is nearby.
See that colored LED that flashes red when the shackle is pressed down to confirm everything is locked up tight? When you have the lock’s paired phone in the vicinity, the Noke recognizes its mate and signals that it’s unlocked by flashing a green light.
No phone, stuck with a dead battery, or need to authorize the lock for someone else? Just enter an app-programmed combination of eight short and long presses on the shackle to Quick-Click unlock the Noke. Of course, you can always deactivate this combination personally at any time from your device. This is a prudent feature to leave enabled, however, since the Noke won’t unlock remotely without the app being open or for a locked phone. Alternately, you could also use a connected key fob for emergencies.
That brings us to another neat little feature: you can send a virtual key to a friend’s phone using the app and receive instant notification when it unlocks the Noke. It’s an ideal option for when you need to let couriers or house-sitters, but still keep perfect tabs on who comes and goes.
Even more reassuring, the Noke is a sturdy little SOB. The anti-shim tech is as tamper-proof as it gets, including a trio of cryptographic key-exchange protocols, Noke’s own PKI tech and a 128-bit AES CCM encryption algorithm, should some ballsy and persistent thief power past the boron and hardened steel casing. Not only does that hard body stand up to a beating, it also withstands wetness to protect a year-plus replaceable watch battery. The Noke is brains and brawn in a single lock, available for pre-orders now from Firebox.com, the good people who also brought you the Inner Selfie Stick, Stress Sausage, 10,000 Scovilles Naga Chilli Vodka, and Habanero-Infused Gummy Bears.
