Forget contacless payment, here's contactless locking: 18-year old Frenchman brings contactless tech to bikes

"The goal of the bike is to be fast. I found it a bit paradoxical to waste time protecting your bike." Those are the words of French Junior Science and Life INNOVEZ award winner Benoît Thomas whose contactless locking mechanism won the 2016 award.

Junior Science and Life is a magazine that runs annual innovation awards for participants under the age of 18, and this year's cohort's winner offered an interesting solution to the logistical issue of locking up your bike.

Frustrated by the time consuming nature of securing his bike, 18-year old Benoît Thomas entered the Junior Science and Life competition with his contactless 3d-printed contactless bike lock.

The lock features a card similar to the debit and credit cards we use on a day-to-day basis which is stored in part of the lock on the seat tube. The lock mechanism automatically slides through the spokes near the rear brake on the seatstay of the bike when the card is removed from its slot, securing the bike in moments.

>Read more: road.cc's Beginner's Guide to Bike Security

The mechanism also contains movement senors which trigger an alarm if the bike is moved while still locked.

While the young Frenchman's invention is relatively low-tech and not production-ready, perhaps the idea, which offers incredibly fluid bike security, is a glimpse into the future of bike security.

>Read more: road.cc's Bike Lock Buyer's Guide

"Just put the bike against a wall or pole, lock the card, and the bike is locked," Benoît told Hauts-de-France. 

If peace of mind were that easy to come by, you bet we'd all be using devices like Benoît's. Perhaps it will be in the near future.