"In the future, you won't have to worry about losing or forgetting your keys," said Tsai Yao-pin, who teaches at the Technology and Science Institute of Northern Taiwan.
At the heart of the technology developed by his team is a chip that can detect movement in three dimensions, as used in Nintendo's Wii video game console, he said.
The technology allows users to easily unlock their doors by repeating a gesture preset in the sensor, according to Tsai.
The "invisible key" won him a gold medal at the four-day Taipei International Invention Show and Technomart which ended Sunday.
He estimated that it make take half a year for the invention to go commercial as several interested companies have approached him. (AFP)