A Keyhole-Free Lockbox Opens When You Trace a Secret Pattern with a Magnet
A Magnetic Sensor Tile Is Perfect for Secret Gestures
A lockbox opens when a magnet is moved across its surface in a programmed pattern, with no visible keyhole or keypad. An 8-by-8 array of 64 magnetic sensors tracks the motion; when the gesture matches the stored pattern, a servo releases the latch.
Creator Stephen Cass found that the sensor area was only about three centimeters square, making it difficult to trace the gesture reliably. He decorated the box with a Celtic knot pattern and used part of it as a disguised positioning guide.
To hide the lock, he made a secret magnetic gesture and then hid the gesture's guide inside decorative knotwork. Opening a box becomes a tiny puzzle.