You have certainly seen a combination lock on films or in real life. They are mainly used to store something of value. Therefore, they are common in safes. For those who don't remember, the locks are circular and need to be turned to form the password. With that, the lock is opened. Did you know that a new robot opens locks and discovers the secret much more easily? It is about him that we will talk today.
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How is such a lock opened?
In fiction, one sees a lot of use of hearing to discover the combination, since with each turn a sound is emitted. With this, normally the actor will rotate until offering the correct password, but this is only possible for simple and cheap locks. For high quality master combination locks, the process is not that simple.
How does the robot act?
The operating principle and logic is based on years ago studies by Samy Kamkar, an American privacy and security researcher, computer hacker and entrepreneur. For some types of master locks, the “secret” can be found by applying a little pressure to the stem and looking for places on the dial that indicate where your movement becomes heavier.
With this, an algorithm can be used to assert the first and third numbers. From this it becomes possible to arrive at a list of only eight candidates for the second issue. To the surprise of many, the process is completed quickly and smoothly. This is one of the main strengths of the robot.
The [Mew463] machine, which is the name with which the robot was baptized, automates this process making circular movements with the dial by means of a stepper motor and pulling the rod using a rack and pinion system. The entire process is controlled by an Arduino Nano, which is mounted on a custom PCB coupled with a TMC2208 stepper driver.