Linka: the world’s first auto unlocking smart lock for bikes

It might look like one half of a pair of handcuffs, but this is a smart lock for bikes.

It’s called Linka, and it has all sorts of ways of protecting your ride. For starters, it immobilises your bike – press the button, and a 9mm hardened square steel ring slides into place, stopping your wheel from turning. It syncs to your smartphone over Bluetooth, and automatically unlocks as you approach. Or you can enter a four-digit PIN.

If someone does make off with your bike, a 100dB siren will screech away, alerting everyone in the vicinity that he or she is up to no good. Thanks to its triple-axis accelerometer, false alarms are a thing of the past, as it will discern between the actions of thieves and someone bumping into your bike by accident.

Tamper alerts send a notification to your phone if someone starts feeling up your bike, and if it goes further than 400 feet away from you. It also has a theft detector map (from bikeindex.org) that tells you whether the neighbourhood is safe, and will even suggest where else to park and how to get there. In other words, it’s got your back.

Read more: Yerka is a bike that doubles as a lock

Other Linka owners will be able to track your bike too, so if someone does steal it, you’ll have a whole army of people on your side. Justice team, mobilise!

It’s a great idea, and has already raised over twice its $25,000 funding target. Look out for it in November.