SMART TECH & IOT
Harnessing IoT Technology for Stolen Vehicle Recovery
The battle between car thieves and those committed to preventing vehicle theft is an ongoing struggle. Every day in the UK, an average of 159 cars are stolen, and the culprits are often professional gangs of thieves. This figure represents a 20% increase from the previous year in 2022.
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n this high-stakes game, the role of technology in tracking down and recovering stolen vehicles has become increasingly critical for police and investigation teams. While established tracking technologies such as GPS have been widely used to combat this, they are not without limitations, and can often be thwarted by savvy criminals. Gareth Mitchell, UK Partner Manager, Heliot Europe, discusses the role of Sigfox’s sub-gigahertz (OG-Wan) radio technology in providing a discreet, robust, and effective solution for stolen vehicle recovery across Europe.
The Challenges of Modern Car Theft
The audacity of car thieves is not to be underestimated. They have a keen sense of which vehicles are parked in garages, where they are located, and when is the best time to strike. In a matter of minutes, a thief can pick a lock and short-circuit the ignition, making off with the stolen vehicle without leaving a trace. With the recent adoption of proximity sensor keys among new car models, duplicate keys can be easily programmed using inexpensive software, and a car can be stolen in less than five minutes. Trucks, trailers, and construction site equipment, such as excavators and power generators, are also prime targets for these organised gangs, with this criminal activity costing the construction industry around £800 million annually.
According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), 130,389 vehicles were stolen in 2022 alone, highlighting the scale of the problem in the UK. Once stolen, thieves often move the goods rapidly, and often across
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international borders, which makes timing critical when responding to this criminal activity. This is where investigation teams and police forces come into play, to locate and secure the stolen vehicles before they reach international borders, where they are often broken into parts to pass through border controls more easily.
The Evolution of Tracking Technology
Commonly known systems such as GPS tracking, LTE, WiFi, GSM-R, and passive tracking have been in use for some time among investigation teams and police to aid in the recovery of stolen vehicles. These systems offer various advantages but also have their limitations. A relatively new alternative, Sigfox’s Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technology, is gaining
APRIL 2024 | ELECTRONICS FOR ENGINEERS
attention for its efficacy in stolen vehicle recovery.
Unlike GPS and WiFi signals that thieves are familiar with, Sigfox’s LPWAN radio signals remain undetectable and are less susceptible to interference. Professional car thieves have access to devices that can quickly detect and disable GPS, LTE, and WiFi signals using jammers. Such jamming equipment is readily available, and is relatively inexpensive. In contrast, OG-WAN based sub-gigahertz technology is more robust, transmitting signals reliably and conserving energy at the same time. This resilience stems from the unique properties of LPWAN technology, which allows the transmission of small data packets over vast distances with minimal interference securely.
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