Secret, invisible security lock - Swiss invention

Empa researcher Evgeniia Gilshtein has developed an invisible "keyhole": Circuits are placed on a transparent substrate that are barely perceptible to the human eye. Image: Empa

​EMPA  design Materials and Technologies for a Sustainable Future.

EMPA began as the “Building Materials Testing Institute” in the cellars of Zurich’s Federal Polytechnical School (now ETH Zurich) in 1880. Of course there is a German acronym here. EMPA is the short version for Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt. 

What does sustainability look like in practice? How does it actually work? What’s different from the world we live in today? And, perhaps most importantly, what are the trade-offs? Walking and biking might be the most sustainable forms of transportation, but they’re probably not the most time-efficient if you need to drive 10 miles across town for work or an appointment. No matter how different we want the future to be, we can’t simply ignore the way people actually live today. We cannot simply wish for a world we want.

Regardless of what sustainability looks like for you, EMPA have just succeeded in making a lock that is made of printed, transparent electronics. So that only authorized persons know where to enter the access code.

The special sensor surface material cannot be seen by the human eye and can be positioned in suitable locations, such as above a door hinge. Says EMPA researcher Evgeniia Gilshtein, "the circuits can just as easily be positioned on a pane of glass or a curved door handle." 

Read about it here www.empa.ch/web/s604/transparent-security