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There’s not a lot that’s more annoying than discovering that at some point during the day, you’ve lost your keys, or even worse, you’ve simply locked yourself out. If you don’t happen to have a spare, or haven’t left one with a friend or neighbour, you have to face the inconvenience and sheer expense of calling a locksmith to have your locks changed – this is irritating enough if it happens once, but let’s face it, some of us are just unlucky when it comes to keys. If you’re one of those people who just can’t seem to hang on to their keys, you’re probably already aware of the locksmith fees, and would do pretty much anything to avoid paying them in the future. Luckily, KeyMe, a New York City based startup has revolutionized the locksmith industry – and could be about to change your life too.

The design is simple, yet revolutionary, and could make a real difference to people who continually lose their keys. By simply placing your key on a piece of plain white paper, and scanning copies of both the front and back, you can create a virtual key which is then stored on your digital keychain. The app then generates two pieces of information for the locksmith – the key type, and a series of numbers which gives depth cutting instructions, which means they can create a brand new key right there on the spot. The app itself is free, and it costs nothing to create an account and scan and store your digital copies of any keys, but it will cost you $9.99 to access the information, should you require it. The locksmith doesn’t need any extra information, and when you consider that the fees for a new lock can cost in excess of $150, it’s pretty much a bargain.

Founded last year, there are already five self-service kiosks throughout 7-Eleven stores in Manhatten, where you can both scan and make duplicate copies of existing keys. If you’re thinking of the future, you can also order via the KeyMe mail order service. The company offer various key designs, in a range of colours and styles, from the charity printed varieties to character keys ideal for children. For those who like something a little more eclectic, choose a novelty design such as the guitar or saw shaped keys, or go for practicality and pick the bottle version, which doubles up as a bottle opener.