Physical keys could increasingly become a thing of the past as technology catches up.

from channelnewsasia.com: Las Vegas – Gabriel Bestard-Ribas got tired of his house keys scratching his smartphone in his pocket, so he combined them.

The
result was a Goji lock, which senses when a resident’s smartphone is
near and not only unlocks a door but greets the resident by name.

It’s just one of the trends of “smart locks” on display at the Consumer Electronics Show that ends here Friday.

“My
keys were always scratching my phone, so I thought why not build them
in,” said Bestard-Ribas, founder and chief executive of San Francisco
startup Goji.

His creation fuses mobile Internet technology with
centuries old lock mechanics. A free Goji application installed in
smartphones uses Bluetooth connectivity to let the lock know a person is
near and, if it is a resident or someone given a “digital key,” a
personalised welcome message displays and the path is opened.