Security

Ford seems to believe theft of fancy alloy wheels is on the rise thanks to improved security systems that make it harder to steal whole cars. So it's working on creating anti-theft wheel nuts, each individually 3D printed for the car owner.

Back in 2011, we heard about a rather quirky but apparently effective bike lock known as the TiGr. Now, its makers are back with a new version that's more compact and harder to cut through.

We're seeing an increasing number of "smart" locks that are installed over top of a door's existing old-school lock. This means that they protrude from the door, potentially getting in the way. The Level Lock, however, goes inside the door.

Although headlights are essential for safe night-time bicycle commuting, the things may get stolen when the bike is left unattended. The Orb Droid addresses this problem, by actually integrating into the handlebar stem.

Bicycle seats are relatively easy to steal, which is where the user-removable SeatyGo comes in.

Invented by siblings Joe and Christine Edell, the AirLock is both a tire pump and a cable lock.

​More and more, we're seeing bike locks that open not with a key or combination, but with a fingerprint or Bluetooth signal. Almost all of those, however, are U-locks. What if you prefer the more compact form factor and wider reach of a folding lock? Well, that's where the ZiiLock comes in.

​Although U-locks are generally considered to be the most secure type of bike lock, the fact is that a portable angle grinder can typically cut through their shackle in a matter of seconds. Washington, DC-based Altor Locks has set out to address that problem, with its big n' beefy SAF Lock.

AddArmor has wrapped an Audi RS7 with its special in-house paneling and ballistic glass to produce what it says is the fastest armored car in the world, with plenty of other tricks up its sleeve to stave off attacks.​​

​Although biometric face-recognition security tech is now becoming quite common on devices such as smartphones, it does still require a lot of processing power. In the not-too-distant future, however, the same purpose could be served by an integrated piece of analog glass.

​If you're managing security at an outdoor event, then it's important that you know where all of your staff are. A system developed at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology is designed to let users do just that, and it doesn't require a mobile phone network.

Mimic Go might look like a bubbly, chubby-version of a tracking tag (which it is) but that's only one of the tricks it has up its red, plastic sleeve. The Mimic Go can help prevent things from going missing in the first place. And light up your ride.