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Optical Lock Foils Thieves

opticsorg writes "A UK inventor has come up with a way to make what is thought to be an unpickable lock. The Optilock contains a bundle of up to six input optical fibers on one side of the lock barrel and a corresponding number of fibers on the other side. When a special key is inserted into the lock, it connects the fibers in a unique routing pattern opening the lock in a fraction of a second. Light then flows around the circuit until the key is removed and the circuit is broken."

11 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Copyright Reference by 4of11 · · Score: 5, Funny

    But if they did pick it, at least they wouldn't be circumventing copyright restrictions. Because that would be terrible.
    /obligatory slashdot DMCA reference

  2. Gonna need new equipment... by BigZaphod · · Score: 3, Funny

    I guess I'm going to have to find someone selling tiny little prisms now so I can build myself a new lock-pick set...

  3. key of light by xmple · · Score: 2, Funny

    idea to "pick" the lock: use a flashlight, and shine it trough the keyhole...

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    Time is the only precious thing I've got left; Don't waste it
  4. Re:Unpickable? by rjshields · · Score: 3, Funny

    I wonder if I could "pick" it with a 14lb lump hammer ;)

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    In this world nothing is certain but death, taxes and flawed car analogies.
  5. Re:Not unpickable by dman123 · · Score: 4, Funny
    Not only will it take a while for people to learn how to pick it, it will take a while for the lock to even exist...

    Quoting the article... "At the moment, the lock is a computer model. This money will allow us to see how these ideas will work and what the devices will actually look like."

    Maybe it will be one of those situations where the lockpicks are invented before the vulnerability is found and fixed by the Microsoft, I mean, the manufacturer.

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    dman123 forever!
    Filtering out the -1s and 0s since 1999.
  6. Sneakers by CyberVenom · · Score: 5, Funny

    Do any of you remember the old (and surprisingly realistic compared to newer crap) hacker movie "Sneakers"? When they are trying to break into the office to steal the chip, Redford comes to a door with an electronic lock. After getting an earful of explanation (which we don't hear) from his partner back in the van about how the military deals with that kind of lock, he agrees to try a new lockpicking method. He kicks the door, and the bolt pops out of the doorjam...

  7. Onion headline by heldlikesound · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Optical sledgehammer opens optical lock."

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    Cloud City Digital: DVD Production at its cheapest/finest
  8. Re:Unpickable proof?? by Knetzar · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Me fail English, that's unpossible"

  9. Thinking too hard by macemoneta · · Score: 3, Funny

    You folks are thinking too hard. You need a low tech solution, that a burglar with a third grade education would use. :-)

    Just put a little graphite-oil (used in regular locks) in the optical lock. Then, when the owner tears it out because it doesn't work (optical paths obscured by the graphite), the burglars can go back to business as usual.

    --

    Can You Say Linux? I Knew That You Could.

  10. Re:Unpickable, huh? by Lars+T. · · Score: 2, Funny
    ...Unless you figure out a way to change the time.

    Yeah, MacGyver did that all the time.

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    Lars T.

    To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck

  11. Re:Unpickable? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    You can smash your windows yourself, you know :)