Car thieves up against satellites

By PETER GRIFFIN

The battle against car thieves is becoming a lot more technical, with satellite positioning systems and cellphone networks set to play as big a part in vehicle security as alarms and engine immobilisers.

While most of us use cellphones to talk to friends or text-message, a new service from Auckland software start-up Atrac promises to turn an 027 Telecom phone into a security device.

Forget calling the AA or fishing around with a bent coat-hanger after locking your keys in the car. Unlocking the door, activating your siren or killing the ignition is as easy as pressing buttons on your mobile.

Former Virtual Spectator and Walker Wireless employees are the brains behind Atrac, which supplies a small black box that is hidden in the body of the car, in much the same way as a car alarm.

The box holds a computer circuit board connected to a satellite Global Positioning System (GPS) module and a mobile network modem. It can integrate with the central computers and alarm systems of modern cars.

The service, says Atrac director Alex Melville, lies dormant unless certain "events" trigger off the sensors.

Trying to hot-wire the car or smashing a window trips the sensors, catching the attention of Atrac.

"You might be in a restaurant 20 feet away from your car and not know it is being towed away," says Melville.

But a burst of data will be sent over the 027 network to Atrac, who will then ring or text the owner.

If a theft is believed to be under way, Atrac will dispatch its roving security force or call police.

"There's no point in us calling the police with a maybe. We have to verify [the theft]."

Through a web browser, police can gain access to the mapping software, aiding them in guiding a patrol to the demobilised car.

The GPS module plots the co-ordinates of a moving car by communicating with satellites. That information is then sent via mobile to Atrac, where the vehicle can be tracked on a computer-generated map.

Lack of cellphone coverage is a potential hiccup, but stolen cars are likely to be demobilised before thieves can head for the "no signal" backblocks.

The box, which Atrac has the Asia Pacific licence for, will also send out a message if the car crashes.

The service uses Telecom's "CDMA1x" mobile data network, which the company says added 87,000 customers in the three months to September 30, giving it a subscriber base of 407,000.

Atrac does not operate over Vodafone's network and only Telecom users will be able to access the web-browsing functions on their handsets. But Vodafone users can still subscribe, leaving Atrac to inform them of the status of their cars.

The cost of the service can be included on the Telecom monthly bill.

Use of GPS and mobiles in vehicle security and tracking is not new. Since 2001 Chubb has used Tracknet, a system based on Vodafone's mobile data network.

Security firm Icon Group uses GPS tracking devices for private surveillance jobs, and automatic tracking equipment is standard on some Subaru, Saab, Renault and BMW vehicles.

But the monitoring services have low take-up due to their high cost and patchy reliability.

Atrac says its box will cost $1250 plus installation charged at an average of $50 an hour. The company claims most cars can be fitted within three hours.

A $15 monthly monitoring fee covers all data traffic generated by random events. Subscribers will pay between $200 and $400 to have their car recovered.

The Atrac team is kept small - just nine people at present. The response and recovery side of the business is contracted out and overseen by heavyweight security firm Berakas.

And owners of expensive cars can cut their insurance premiums. Atrac has done a deal with insuror IAG, owner of State and NZI, whereby Atrac subscribers get a 10 per cent discount on their car insurance premiums. It had also teamed up with car-seller Giltrap.

Privacy advocates fear that services such as Atrac's will track cars constantly or that speed records could be taken from a crashed car and used against the driver in court.

"This isn't Big Brother," says Melville. "It does not sent location information until an event triggers it."

For regular car-owners, data such as speed would not be gathered.

Atrac aims to extend its security service to literally anything thieves would target, from industrial Machinery to boats.

"You can tell when someone's taken the boat out of the marina or if the bilge alarm goes off."

Atrac will also go up against companies such as Navman and Econz in the fleet tracking business, where trucking companies can monitor the whereabouts of their vehicles.

It expects its car security product to appeal to a wide audience, from "the kid spending $20,000 on his Subaru or the executive with a 5 Series BMW".

Atrac

Chubb

Icon Group