If you leave a bike locked up in the street for long enough, thieves will always find a way to steal it. So what's the solution? How about a portable robot that'll lift your bike up the nearest lamppost, putting it safely out of reach (unless the crooks have a very long ladder).
That's exactly what German electronics store Conrad have built for a new TV advert. It apparently took seven people two weeks to create, using over 150,000 components. They've dubbed it "the most secure bike lock in the world".
Conrad bike hoist advert:
Bike hoist
'Making of' the Conrad bike hoist advert:
Bike hoist making of
While Conrad have no plans to make their robot commercially available, it's an interesting concept. They're not the first people to come up with the idea of lifting bikes out of harm's way, though. British designer Dominic Hargreaves's iQ bike lock, unveiled last year, uses a wall-mounted winch to perform the same task.
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