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DIY Touch-Sensitive Keyless Entry System
Posted by Sean Fallon at 3:45 AM on October 21, 2008
There are all kinds of keyless door locks on the market these days, but this DIY version utilises a touch-sensitive system powered by an arduino that offers a cheap, secure and discreet method of entering a locked room. To gain access, the user must touch a wire jutting out from the door in a specific sequence. Yeah, this project is super-ghetto, but it would be awesome integrated into the doorknob itself.
Designer Lotty Linderman's moving wall/door is only a concept, but the pivoting arm design could have a lot of potential. I can see a system being constructed that would allow users to swing walls around to customise their living space. Obviously, that would give homeowners a lot of options with regard to the floorplan—not to mention a big advantage if you are living in cramped quarters. At the very least, it would make for one hell of a secret door. [
Home theatre junkies are now one step closer to a fully THX-certified home thanks to Serious Materials' QuietHome soundproof doors, which joins the company's QuietRock THX-certified drywall. The Serious folks claim an 85% improvement in sound blockage over a standard solid-core door with the 2 1/4-inch thick THX-certified edition, which will set you back US$2,500 when it clears the certification board (and once the first shipment clears to George Lucas's Presidio compount). If you're in the target market for a THX-certified door, US$2,500 probably won't sting too badly. Now, where is my THX-certified easy chair and acoustically neutral Pringles can? Read on for full details.
Now, if this door makes the classic Pphssshshm Star Trek door noise when it opens and shuts, the manufacturers are onto a winner. It sounds like a neat solution for dogs and cats that like to roam: you pop a weatherproof RFID tag in their collar, and when they approach the Plexidor pet door it automatically slides up to let your pets in or out. Its safety mechanism means it won't guillotine your pet if they dawdle, and it shuts automatically so you only get your animals in your home. It's made of the same stuff as football helmets, so it should withstand some tough weather, and it's available now for between US$130 and US$800, depending on features and size. [
Schlage is planning on taking door lock security into the internet age with a new lineup of Z-Wave devices that can be locked, unlocked and monitored from a mobile phone or other web enabled device. By connecting a Z-Wave gateway to any broadband router, users will be able to take complete control of up to 256 locks—including creating and disabling passcodes as well as monitoring who accessed the door and when.
Fans of Jonathan Ive's work may find the EZON SHS-5200 lock, aka Luce, from Samsung just a little bit crispy. Built to US standards, and with an emergency keyhole, this slimline digital door fastening has been hailed as being better-looking than the iPhone. Made of aluminium, its tempered-glass, touchscreen pad only lights up when you press the start button and there's a built-in fire alarm that goes off when the temperature hits 55ºC. Given how hot my MacBook gets after a day's work, that's a feature that Apple should maybe think about installing in their machines. [
When it comes to interior design, nothing makes a room more interesting than adding some unique artistic touches. Unfortunately, not everyone has been blessed with a vivid imagination—but the good news is that there are plenty of skilled artisans out there like the dude behind this etched LED glass door are willing to share their methods. In this case, you are going to need some plexi glass, wood, tools, and about 120 LEDs to complete the design pictured above—or you could always do your own thing. Hit the link for the full how-to. [
The Revolution Door is a concept from New York designers Fluxxlab that puts otherwise-wasted kinetic energy from a revolving office door to good use—generating power. Fluxxlab's rationale is that humans exert a chunk of their own energy when pushing a revolving door around, and it may as well be captured via gears and an electricity generator. If you think about the thousands of doors across the country spinning around all day, everyday, then maybe they've got a point. Obligatory design diagram, and a schematic showing how the idea turns your breakfast into green lightbulb-lighting power after the jump.
It's not that we have any particular dislike for doors, it's just that, growing up in a barn, we never had any use for them. But this Ping-Pong door is enough to change our minds. Housing a Ping-Pong table within an internal frame, the door...unfolds...for a quick match. It's a clever, efficient use of space for those who don't require a full-size table to get their Forrest Gump on. 
What, is this International Doorbell Week? The techno-doorbell scene continues its explosive growth and innovation, and following those two more-sophisticated MP3 doorbells we showed you earlier this week, this Chinese Recordable Parrot Wireless Doorbell approaches the realm of the absurd. This cheapshit $22 plastic bird is not like those doorbells, such as the 
