where did i-lock come from?

I-Lock was inspired by the IQ light^TM system which was designed in 1972 by Danish designer Holger Strøm, who was then working at the Kilkenny Design Workshops, Ireland.  You can learn much more about the IQ light system at http://www.iqlight.com/ Below is a simple diagram of how the system works.  There is one module which is copied and interlocks with the other modules to create clusters of 5 modules.  The clusters are then assembled into a light.