Car security: The next level

In the 1980s, a very popular show called 'Knight Rider' came up with this
concept of a remotely operable, intelligent car that could alert its owner in
times of trouble or if someone was trying to break in. Well now, at least some
of that same functionality can be installed in your car too, albeit without the
fancy artifical intelligence. With so many car thefts, the main purpose here is
active vehicle tracking and recovery, now possible using GSM, GPS, or a
combination of both technologies.

Car security (the story so far)

Car alarms have been one of the most popular and economical ways of
protecting your car against possible thefts. A few years back, such car alarms
were expensive and exclusive, but these days, various types of cost-effective
alarms have entered the market making it possible for everybody to have one for
their car. Most car alarm systems are RF based; with a small remote control that
allows you to remotely lock/unlock doors and set off the siren.

Unfortunately, standard card alarms do very little to actually prevent theft.
Ask yourself this-how many times have you heard car alarms going off in your
neighborhood and done nothing about it? In fact, those loud sirens are more of a
nuisance than anything else.

These alarms work on a simple technology using broken circuits. If any of the
doors, bonnet, or boot is opened when the alarm is active, the circuit gets
interrupted causing the alarm to go off. Sometimes, you can add sensors on the
body of the car to detect movement, ultrasonic sensors inside the car, and
electronic immobilzers to add to the effectiveness of these alarm systems. But
they all have one very big and glaring flaw-they all depend on the car's battery
to function. SImply disconnecting the battery renders the alarm completely
useless.

A standard car alarm system which consists of a siren, control box, and sensors for each door	The iTrack system hidden away in a car. Before a thief can realize, the car will be tracked and recovered

Plus chances are that a vehicle thief knows how to disarm most types of car
alarms without even setting off the siren. How then can you protect your
investment? Mechanical gear locks and steering wheel locks are an option, but
depend on you to place them each time you get out of the vehicle.

The next generation in car security

With technology advancing day-by-day, car security devices have also
evolved. Now they offer better security features and have become much smart than
they used to be. The latest trend in car security systems (apart from all the
usual features) is built-in tracking using GPS and/or GSM/CDMA1x based
technologies.

These devices can be remotely armed or can be set to operate on standby mode
until somebody tries to operate the vehicle without the permission of the owner.
For GSM-based devices, you need an active SIM card and the device needs to be
configured with your cellphone number. To activate or deactivate it, all you
need to do is call that number. When active, if it detects an intrusion, an SMS
will be instantly sent to your cell phone. If you're quick enough you might even
be able to prevent the theft, since it'll take the thief a while to start the
car and drive away. But after that it can keep giving you updates on the car's
location on your phone, using GSM cell tower location. Some of them also come
with a battery backup that ensures the device will continue to function even if
the main power supply has been cut off. Backup can range from 3 hours to 3 days
based on the type of device you choose.

GPS car security systems use a GPS receiver much like the one in a GPS
navigation device. With GPS, you can track the location of your vehicle more
accurately, but it has certain limitations; such as not being able to work
inside a building, under­ground, or if the GPS receiver does not have a clear
view of the sky. That's why a combination of GSM + GPS technologies in a car
alarm makes the most sense.

Buying a security system with both GSM & GPS makes more sense	Devices are small in size and can be easily hidden from the eyes of car jackers

Some of the advanced devices of this type offer extra features, like
real-time information on the vehicle's fuel consump­tion, engine condition,
mileage, and duty hours. These advanced features might not be necessary for the
person in need of security for his vehicle but for companies like BPOs and
transportation houses, these features allow them to manage a whole fleet of
vehicles while sitting at a remote computer and getting all the information.

Things to be kept in mind while choosing a security system for your
vehicle

1. Types of sensors: Sensors are the key to a security system as they are
   responsible for sending the information related to unauthorized entry into
   your vehicle. Sensors being used today can range from basic circuit breakers
   to glass-break sensors and ultrasonic motion detectors that sound the alarm on
   suspicious activity. This protects your car from the thief who tries to bypass
   your alarm by not opening the door. Apart from these sensors some systems
   might also have motion sensors that can trigger an alarm when they sense a
   motion within their protected area.
2. Remote outputs:These allow you to expand the security system capabilities
   by adding features like a remote starter or window controls. So by adding
   these you get control over critical parts of the car like the engine's starter
   motor, so you can easily immobilize your car remotely making it impossible to
   steal. Most security systems come with varied number of remote outputs.
   Considering these while choosing your car security system allows you to make
   it future proof also.
3. Vehicle tracking:GPS-based tracking is one of the most accurate way of
   tracking the location of your car while it has been stolen. Apart from GPS
   many manufacturers are also adding up additional capabilities to their car
   security systems like the AGPS technology that makes use of a GSM/CDMA-based
   network to track the position of the vehicle if they are not able to make use
   of their GPS capability; this situation can occur if the car thief parks your
   car in garage or under trees or a place where the sky is not visible.
4. Hardware compo-­nents used: It becomes important to know what type of
   hardware compo­nents are used, before buying any vehicle security system. Most
   car security systems double up as a car alarm system too. Better components
   can help in faster data processing so the alarm gets armed in a shorter span
   of time thus reducing the chances of vehicle theft. A hardware component check
   may include checking the speed of the system (by getting a demo) because the
   faster the system, the better it is. You could also check what type of GPS
   chipset it uses (if GPS?enabled). And then comes the type and speed of modem
   used because this is what determines the speed at which SMSs will be sent to
   your phone. The best bet is to go in for a GSM + GPS system that has battery
   backup. There is a recurring cost too; the monthly bill for the SIM card,
   normally Rs 150 per month which includes a certain number of SMSs.
   

   Industry Speak

   We also spoke with some of the people from the field of car security and devices and this is what they had to say:Amit Goel from Amasaki Homesafe Limited told us. “This technology is the latest in terms of car security. Apart from being new, it's quite effective. Amasaki devices have been able to yeild some good results; as many as eight stolen vehicles have been recovered by us in the past few months using the Amsaki 9110 tracker. The latest was recovered on 20th March this year. The stolen vehicle was a Hyundai Accent belonging to Vice President of Bajaj Hindustan group. The vehicle was stolen from Sec-27 Noida, and was recovered within hours from place near Mandi House in Delhi”. Angad Chopra, Business Development Manger for Orange Tools, told us something about their vehicle tracking device that many of the other competetors still don't offer, “The ICU500 has a strong customer network of many satisfied customers spread over 35 countries and the device is recommended by many private, government, and military labs too. Apart from all this the device uses world's best components including a Hitachi processor and a Motorola G24 modem and makes use of many other technologies that can help to secure your vehicle and can also help you actively monitor your car as it provides realtime information.”

Track Stick

Security is not only required where there is a possibility of theft, but
security can be there also where you want to know or want to reduce the misuse
of your vehicle. It happens mostly in places where people leave their cars or
vehicles outside under some other person's supervision. Misuse of vehicles is a
nuisance and with devices like Track Stick you can easily get to know where all
has your vehicle moved in your absence. Devices like the track stick are battery
powered devices and due to its small size it can be hidden from eyes easily. It
can easily record up to some days of data, which includes all those locations
where the vehicle has gone to. Some of the devices are programmable and you can
easily program them to the work or record the location at a certain time
interval.

What the future holds

Current car security systems are too tame, even the GSM + GPS based systems
will help you track your car, but do nothing to prevent the car from being
stolen. Completely preventing the theft in the first place is the next step in
car security. An electronic key card should be on the owner's person, which
serves as the key to unlock the car doors. If a thief tries to force the doors,
he/she will be instantly jolted with 50,000 volts of current (much like a stun
gun). While nothing like this is commercially available, some enterprising
individuals have already been experimenting with the idea and it's only a matter
of time before you can buy a car with this system installed. An alter­nate
system shoots out flames from underneath the car and yet another system
apprehends and detains the thief inside the car using a complex system of
restr­aints. While the technology is available, it's not been implemented
because the owners wouldn't want these systems to turn on them.

Rahul Gupta

Courtesy: Living Digital