The doormat would contain a proximity based radio tag transceiver, and the radio tags would be embedded/attached to your shoes. The transceiver in the doormat would be programmed to recognise only the radio tags on your shoes. When you step on the doormat, the radio tags in your shoes would come in range of the transceiver and would be powered by a weak electromagnetic signal emitteded by the doormat transceiver. The doormat would recognise your shoes and then send a signal to an electricmagnetic lock on the front door causing it to unlock.
End result: When you walk up to your front door it unlocks automatically - no keys to carry, or fumble with when carrying stuff into the house. It would also confuse the hell out of anyone watching :) especially if they later tried to breakin since you obviously never lock your front door.-- drainfood, Jul 17 2003 Why not just build this into the door itself?-- DeathNinja, Jul 17 2003 Radio-frequency remote-control door locks are pretty baked. Nice idea to put the receiver in a door-mat, but if it gets stolen how would you get into your house?-- angel, Jul 17 2003 If I come home without my shoes, how do I unlock the door? I think there should be a manual override for situations like that.-- tpoo22, Jul 17 2003 Perhaps some type of "key."-- snarfyguy, Jul 17 2003 DeathNinja: The range of the low-cost RFID units is limited (normaly a few inches) and I reasoned that the most often worn and easily modified item of clothing is ones shoes - imagine RFID tags that clip onto your shoe laces
Angel: When i say doormat, consider it interchangeable with doorstep - they are typically harder to steal-- drainfood, Jul 17 2003 // RFID- Is there anything it can't do? //
It can't make a half decent omelette.-- waugsqueke, Jul 17 2003 A pastry, if only for the sentence "the doormat would recognise your shoes"-- simonj, Jul 17 2003 This brings to mind an old Saturday Night LIve sketch, where the guy finds the mat that opens the supermarket doors. He cuts the rubber out and glues it to his shoes. Everywhere he walks, everything opens up: doors, coffins... in the end, he steps up to an elevator, the door opens up (with no car there) and he falls down the shaft.-- Cedar Park, Jul 17 2003 While you're at it, put some sensors on my car. To unlock the door, I want a sensor under the car below the door handle, so I just stick my foot under there to unlock the car. A sensor on the floor in front of the driver's seat could enable the car to start with a push-button.
I would agree that normal locks should be left in place as a backup, but eventually if this technology is adopted everywhere, I'll quit carrying my keys-- scad mientist, Jul 18 2003 Hmm, now that I think about it some more, I generally don't like devices that can transmit my identity without me knowing it, so I'll stick with a remote keyless entry type setup where I have to press a button to transmit. Changing + back to neutral (unless it's a shoe mounted remote that I can activate with my toe).-- scad mientist, Jul 18 2003 I've got it! A mat where, when you step upon it, opens the door in front of you...no wait, they have those at supermarkets already. Darn the luck.
*shrug* Perhaps some type of "key"?-- vendetta, Jul 18 2003 (okay, I'll play too.) Perhaps some type of 'key"?
So this has nothing to do with Andy Griffith then?-- waugsqueke, Jul 18 2003 If someone steals your mat, does this mean you can walk into their house?-- git, Jul 19 2003 Only when you've found the mat.-- angel, Jul 19 2003 Darn. I assumed a "Doormat Lock" would lock down the doormat under which the house key is kept, thereby keeping it safe; and I only need to carry the key to the mat!-- lurch, Jul 19 2003 jutta: the doormat is only designed to function when you are on the outside of the door. So there is no problem trying to keep undesirables out-- drainfood, Jul 22 2003 So totally ridiculous that you should be burned at the stake-- doorknob, Nov 26 2003 well put.
[dk] can we call you knob? I assure you its a term of endearment-- seedy em, Nov 26 2003 random, halfbakery