Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Hello, your car is being broken into

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 04:12:29 -0400

Text Alerts That Your Car Is Being Stolen
Contributed by mmasnick on Mon, Sept 15 2003

Following last week's story about putting Lojack style transmitters in everything
you own comes this story of a company that is offering a similar, but much more
advanced, system that you can install in your own car.  Forget Lojack. Instead of
having to call up a service and have the cops find your car, this one will send
you an SMS text message telling you the (rapidly changing, I imagine) location of
your car. The phone will keep ringing you until you answer, and then will give you
the option of sending a text message back that will disable the engine. Even
better, the system can take pictures and send them to your mobile phone via MMS.
Found via textually.org.

=========================================================
Hello, your car is being broken into

IT is the sort of crime-fighting gadget James Bond would be proud of.
A car that phones its owner to say it's being stolen might seem like a product of
Q's lab.
And the idea that it could send a text to give its exact location sounds even more
far-fetched.
But the state-of-the-art alarm is available today - and it's been created by a
Glasgow firm.
It uses US military satellites to track the car, then gives directions relative to
landmarks, restaurants and bars.
The system - reminiscent of talking car KITT in 1980s television show Knight Rider
- is installed under the dashboard and uses a
standard mobile phone sim card.
The car calls its owner as soon as it is moved and continues to ring until it gets
an answer.
Drivers can then send a text message to order the alarm to shut down the car's
engine the next time it stops.
Owners are sent co-ordinates, via text message, to help police pinpoint the car on
a map.
And a mini-camera can even be added to take a picture of the thief in the driving
seat.
Co-inventor Royce Brisbane, 30, is in talks with T-Mobile to promote the £420
alarm throughout the UK.
The former Vodafone engineer has spent the last three years developing the alarm -
called The Advanced Theft System.
Mr Brisbane, technical director with Future Data Systems based at Charing Cross,
said: "No owner with the system will want to
hear from their car - but the phone call alerts them to the theft within seconds.
"There is nothing like this anywhere in the country. It is really ahead of its
time.
"It's a major breakthrough in security because the public have got so used to
ignoring standard car alarms.
"The alarm uses a lot of technology that is already on the market but we have
invested £100,000 to link it all together."
The system has been designed to make sure the car contacts its owner as quickly as
possible.
Mr Brisbane added: "Once its stolen, the car will keep ringing every 60 seconds
until someone answers.
"If the thieves try to cut the wires, the alarm will work for another 40 hours
because of a back-up supply.
"If the car is an area with poor reception, it can still be tracked to within 50
yards.
"The whole system is triggered by a mercury switch which is in the dashboard.
"We plan to adapt the system so owners can receive regular picture message
updates."
Future Data Systems was set up in January and has a workforce of five.
It normally handles radio communication contracts and its clients include shoe
retailer Clarks.
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5019251.html

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