Research for a university project. - Bike locks

That is a brilliant idea. I believe the US were designing this for bullet proof vests.

If your doing a BA you'll get marks for your surface design. If your on a BSc the money shot will be th mechanism - this is what I would refine. The mechanics (or lack of) of the product.

Marketability will be the success or failure of the product. It maybe worthwhile consulting with a well known brand in locks lik Chubb and asking a respected bike shop like kinoko for design.

Have you looked at using CRT card reading technology. Currently used on locker systems. Users gain access (open locks) by using cards which work on a frequency?

I get romantically attached to my bikes so having them stolen is heartbreaking!
Yeah man! Electronic Identification with a combination of modern locks (Like a Disc tumbler lock, which are ironically made by Abus) and are supposedly stupidly difficult and time consuming to pick.
Combine that with CRT or LTE technology and you're good to go. Completely personalized access that relies on your your pin/fingerprint (I know this is compromised yes) but they'll have to get to you, to get to the bike. Another layer of security if the lock is "hypothetically" mechanically difficult to breach.

The electronic side to it eludes me completely, and might over complicate or even jeopardize the security of the lock, but it's an option that could make life easier in terms of accessibility. Saying that however, Anything that sends information over the air is easily crackable unless you go into Quantum encryption or multi-layer stuff and shit! Especially if there's no trail left...which with bikes....there almost always never is once beyond the lock.

Unfortunately I'm just a bike messenger these days (I can't sit still) so I don't really have any facilities to experiment with this.
Sorry for going on off on a tangent fefelarue. Best of luck with the project.