DittoKey

[MacGyver101]

I have nothing to do with the business, and haven't used them (so I have no idea how well/poorly this may work), but I ran across this link earlier today:

DittoKey: http://dittokey.com

They have an iPhone app that guides you through the process of taking photos of your key:

which they then process off-line to determine the cuts (presumably with software on their side: it doesn't look like they're actually doing any biting measurements on the iPhone). Once they've done that, they'll e-mail you a link that you can use to mail-order copies of the keys. I'm not sure if I find this interesting (as an early indication of what may become the "norm" in the future for key duplication)... or if I find it mildly scary (that it's now so easy for anyone with a smartphone to get themselves a copy of any common key).

I'm sure they're restricting it to the usual keyways that you can find at a North American Home Depot, rather than anything fancy... but it would be interesting to see how well they do, in practice. As I say, I haven't had any dealings with these folks, but I'd hazard a guess that someone who knows what they're doing can probably decode and cut a key from a picture as least as well as the kid at my local Home Depot can identify blanks and work their key machine.

Barry Wels posted in his blog last week about a self-serve robotic key duplicator; it'll be interesting to see how these sort of self-serve and Internet-based develop over time.

[chriswingate]

Very cool post, I figured there had to be some software for key recognition or something like that for the Iphone, or technology in general. I know there is a machine called the Easy Entrie (exceptionally expensive) that can recognize and mill key blanks from pictures of the key with the right restricted software.

I also read that blog on the do-it-yourself key machine as well.
I'm not that big of a paranoid person, but I don't like the idea of having my credit info stored along with my address and key way and bitting. Just my opinion.

[MacGnG1]

there is NOT enough info on their site for me to even consider using this! anyone can make an app!

at least the vending machine key duplicating robot has terms and conditions!
if the machine took cash instead of credit would it be okay for you guys?

[Tyler J. Thomas]

This idea will never catch on.

Key duplicates are so cheap and conveniently obtained (HD, Lowes, Wal Mart, Sears, Ace, etc.) that an e-commerce solution is foolish at best. Did they not think this through? Never mind the obvious security flaws at hand, but shipping will cost AT LEAST what a hardware store charges to cut a duplicate. You have to wait a full day AT LEAST instead of swinging by the nearby hardware store on your way home or during your lunch - which won't take much longer than running the app and then completing the payment and shipping information.

Business 101: If it's not convenient and doesn't sell for less than your competitor offers, it won't succeed.

Then you have to account for worn keys, keys that are off in spacing but appear to be alright in depth with locks pinned up to those keys (i.e. bad locksmiths/big box store employees), keys to locks that aren't pinned up to factory specifications, etc. I guarantee they're just looking for cuts in terms of factory increments and not in precise measurements - that would be far to time consuming to decode and then replicate.

This company won't find a hit in this product. Whoever told them this was a good idea should be shot.

[chriswingate]

there is NOT enough info on their site for me to even consider using this! anyone can make an app!

at least the vending machine key duplicating robot has terms and conditions!
if the machine took cash instead of credit would it be okay for you guys?

Agreed, not nearly detailed enough for me to send them money and such for a key to my home.

For me to use the machine if it took cash? No, I make my own lol, but as an average person, I suppose the convenience might work if placed in high traffic areas like malls and such. If one had the thought in the back of their mind to get a key cut sometime, seeing that in a mall while they are strolling past might make them jump on the opportunity, save a separate trip somewhere else.

I can't imagine why that machine wouldn't take cash...it has to be refilled and serviced with key blanks, just like any vending machine, so what's the harm?

[MacGnG1]

agreed chris. personally i would use the machine if it was at walmart or somewhere and i needed it. i'd rather get it done at one store instead of going to home depot if i didnt need to.

[MacGyver101]

If anyone's curious, I think this is the patent for the MinuteKey self-service key machine: US 2008/0145163.

[Tyler J. Thomas]

Save's Wal Mart a lot of overhead - and complaints. I attended a class once that a former Wal Mart district manager spoke briefly at. Do you know why Wal Mart doesn't care if they can't duplicate a working key? The average customer entering Wal Mart spends roughly $19.00 (this was in 2009), who cares if they fudge a few cents in material? Key duplication is just another potential draw for customers.

[Rickthepick]

Not sure id be happy with a picture of my keys floating around in cyberspace

[bobhdus]

The business where my wife works got burned by a locksmith a few years ago (it wasn't me), and they started getting their keys from a website called easy keys. Anyways, the prices are not that bad compared to a service call from a locksmith. You can get them shipped asap. The main thing is, you have to have a number or something to identify the key and blank. They use them to obtain new desk keys. Usually, HON, Teknion etc... Nothing that complicated. Iphone has an App that can identify tree leaves if you scan them in. Doing the same thing with a common Key shouldn't be that hard. When I find myself going to our local Walmart (which I try to avoid), I sometimes swing over to the hardware aisle to use their AXXESS Key blank identifier for key blanks that I cannot match up in my code software or ILCO Key Blank Catalog/ website. It has not failed me yet.

[Evan]

The business where my wife works got burned by a locksmith a few years ago (it wasn't me), and they started getting their keys from a website called easy keys. Anyways, the prices are not that bad compared to a service call from a locksmith. You can get them shipped asap. The main thing is, you have to have a number or something to identify the key and blank. They use them to obtain new desk keys. Usually, HON, Teknion etc... Nothing that complicated. Iphone has an App that can identify tree leaves if you scan them in. Doing the same thing with a common Key shouldn't be that hard. When I find myself going to our local Walmart (which I try to avoid), I sometimes swing over to the hardware aisle to use their AXXESS Key blank identifier for key blanks that I cannot match up in my code software or ILCO Key Blank Catalog/ website. It has not failed me yet.

@bobhdus:

You can not always assume that office furniture is still keyed to the bitting advertised by the visual face stamping on the lock... Especially with older furniture that may have been re-keyed during its service...

~~ Evan

[Legion303]

Quick, someone send Dittokey a picture of your Mul-T-Lock Interactive key and ask them to dupe it for you.

-steve

[Tyler J. Thomas]

Quick, someone send Dittokey a picture of your Mul-T-Lock Interactive key and ask them to dupe it for you.

-steve

For laughs while at Home Depot, I'd try to get my Medeco cam lock key (round head) duplicated. They'd always try to copy it on a Yale 999 key.

[bobhdus]

The business where my wife works got burned by a locksmith a few years ago (it wasn't me), and they started getting their keys from a website called easy keys. Anyways, the prices are not that bad compared to a service call from a locksmith. You can get them shipped asap. The main thing is, you have to have a number or something to identify the key and blank. They use them to obtain new desk keys. Usually, HON, Teknion etc... Nothing that complicated. Iphone has an App that can identify tree leaves if you scan them in. Doing the same thing with a common Key shouldn't be that hard. When I find myself going to our local Walmart (which I try to avoid), I sometimes swing over to the hardware aisle to use their AXXESS Key blank identifier for key blanks that I cannot match up in my code software or ILCO Key Blank Catalog/ website. It has not failed me yet.

@bobhdus:

You can not always assume that office furniture is still keyed to the bitting advertised by the visual face stamping on the lock... Especially with older furniture that may have been re-keyed during its service...

~~ Evan

@ Evan,
Agreed. Before I got in the Maintenance Dept with my current employer, we had a guy that would grind down wafer tumblers on Teknion lock plugs to get different keys to match. It was his "cheap bastard" way to master key a cubicle. When I got in that Dept, I purchased a Wafer Tumbler kit and would have to repair those that he had "modified?" Later!