Smart locks have been on the precipice for years, but they have finally arrived, thanks in part to UniKey. The company has developed technology to enable doors to be locked or unlocked without a metal key. Instead, you can use your smartphone to authenticate yourself to the physical lock.

Of course, the first place you might think about is your personal front door. Wouldn't it be nice to walk up to your front door and have it unlock for you, so you don't have to put down groceries to fumble for keys? However, there are commercial uses as well.

Think about being able to authorize and deauthorize your phone to unlock a hotel room, instead of having to carry a plastic card that will, inevitably get lost or confused. In our CES experience, the keys to our block of rooms were easily confused with one another, especially when carrying equipment late at night.

A Kwikset lock using UniKey's technology is available now for $219.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the Tech Podcast Network.

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