I think, fundamentally, physical locks _can't_ be solved.
Sure they can. Lock-picking is a search for a minima. You just need a design where there's no way to tell if you're getting closer to the right combination. That is, something senses the combination on the key, saves it, and then tests the saved info while protected from manipulation. Doing this cheaply and in a small package is difficult.
Someone recently built such a lock and sent it to the Lock Picking Lawyer.[1] No results yet.
One classic lock close to that was the Chubb Detector Lock. If any lever was pushed too high, the relocking device tripped and the lock would no longer open. Use the wrong key and you were locked out.[1] This was usually fitted with a second mechanism so that turning the correct key in the wrong direction would reset the detector. If built without the reset feature, pick attempts or using the wrong key would disable the lock permanently. This was highly secure but inconvenient.
This is probably a solveable problem if you're willing to have a sizable box on the the door, like 19th century door locks or jail locks today. You'd want that anyway, for mechanical strength.
Sure they can. Lock-picking is a search for a minima. You just need a design where there's no way to tell if you're getting closer to the right combination. That is, something senses the combination on the key, saves it, and then tests the saved info while protected from manipulation. Doing this cheaply and in a small package is difficult.
Someone recently built such a lock and sent it to the Lock Picking Lawyer.[1] No results yet.
One classic lock close to that was the Chubb Detector Lock. If any lever was pushed too high, the relocking device tripped and the lock would no longer open. Use the wrong key and you were locked out.[1] This was usually fitted with a second mechanism so that turning the correct key in the wrong direction would reset the detector. If built without the reset feature, pick attempts or using the wrong key would disable the lock permanently. This was highly secure but inconvenient.
This is probably a solveable problem if you're willing to have a sizable box on the the door, like 19th century door locks or jail locks today. You'd want that anyway, for mechanical strength.
[1] https://hackaday.com/2020/11/29/making-a-unpickable-lock/
[2] https://youtu.be/7Q6rsbeJZMs