Senior Design Project Survey
09-29-2017, 08:01 AM
#1
New Member
Thread Starter
Senior Design Project Survey
Hello everyone,
I'd like to invite you all to take a brief survey for our Electrical and Computer engineering senior design project. We're in the "research" phase of our project and are required to get some input from people to help better design our project to meet the needs of users.
Background:The purpose of this project is to design and create a device that hooks up to users' vehicles and acts as a second authentication device in addition to the key. The user will have another device on hand that will activate the system using some form of wireless communication (Bluetooth, NFC or RFID) and allow the user to start the car. The car will remain running for as long as the on-hand device is in range by the user. If the user were to get out of the car and walk away, it will recognize the absence in connection and deploy a shutdown timer. Thus, the system not only protects against parked vehicle theft but as well as when the vehicle is running with the key in the ignition.
Survey link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...rm?usp=sf_link
Comments and other recommendations/input are also welcomed!
Thank you all
I'd like to invite you all to take a brief survey for our Electrical and Computer engineering senior design project. We're in the "research" phase of our project and are required to get some input from people to help better design our project to meet the needs of users.
Background:The purpose of this project is to design and create a device that hooks up to users' vehicles and acts as a second authentication device in addition to the key. The user will have another device on hand that will activate the system using some form of wireless communication (Bluetooth, NFC or RFID) and allow the user to start the car. The car will remain running for as long as the on-hand device is in range by the user. If the user were to get out of the car and walk away, it will recognize the absence in connection and deploy a shutdown timer. Thus, the system not only protects against parked vehicle theft but as well as when the vehicle is running with the key in the ignition.
Survey link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...rm?usp=sf_link
Comments and other recommendations/input are also welcomed!
Thank you all
09-29-2017, 08:27 AM
#2
New Member
When I bought my two Nissans back in 2009, the dealership had already installed a device that sounds EXACTLY like the one you describe. They slipped it into each invoice as a $500 "Security Feature* without ever mentioning exactly what it did (like it was a factory feature.) When I pointed this out, they explained that it was a dealership-installed system that piggybacked to the NATS and factory security systems and would shut the car off if I was outside a 10-foot perimeter of the vehicle. I told them to strip out the systems and all they did was place a fob under the steering column and press a button. They said, "Done!" and took $1000 off the pair of invoices like it was no big deal. The hardware must have been dirt cheap, because when I asked them to remove all the equipment they installed, they said it couldn't be done, which, of course, I gave them no end of grief over.
I tracked the unit and the wires to the main door switch and pulled everything out of the two cars the day after I brought them home. I wasn't hard to find since they just used blue quick splices to attach the system to the factory harness. After I took out the systems and dumped them on the floor, it looked like a mess of spaghetti attached to some Radio Shack project boxes. I had to remove the door panels and kickplate garnish off to get to the connections, which you really shouldn't have to do the day after you bring a brand new car (or pair of cars) home.
Which brings me to this question: how is a system like the one you describe any better than what modern vehicles are already equipped with straight out of the Nissan factory? Short of leaving your key in the car with the engine running while you go grocery shopping, it's pretty difficult to get past the security features that come with modern cars from the factory.
I tracked the unit and the wires to the main door switch and pulled everything out of the two cars the day after I brought them home. I wasn't hard to find since they just used blue quick splices to attach the system to the factory harness. After I took out the systems and dumped them on the floor, it looked like a mess of spaghetti attached to some Radio Shack project boxes. I had to remove the door panels and kickplate garnish off to get to the connections, which you really shouldn't have to do the day after you bring a brand new car (or pair of cars) home.
Which brings me to this question: how is a system like the one you describe any better than what modern vehicles are already equipped with straight out of the Nissan factory? Short of leaving your key in the car with the engine running while you go grocery shopping, it's pretty difficult to get past the security features that come with modern cars from the factory.
09-29-2017, 09:36 AM
#3
New Member
Thread Starter
When I bought my two Nissans back in 2009, the dealership had already installed a device that sounds EXACTLY like the one you describe. They slipped it into each invoice as a $500 "Security Feature* without ever mentioning exactly what it did (like it was a factory feature.) When I pointed this out, they explained that it was a dealership-installed system that piggybacked to the NATS and factory security systems and would shut the car off if I was outside a 10-foot perimeter of the vehicle. I told them to strip out the systems and all they did was place a fob under the steering column and press a button. They said, "Done!" and took $1000 off the pair of invoices like it was no big deal. The hardware must have been dirt cheap, because when I asked them to remove all the equipment they installed, they said it couldn't be done, which, of course, I gave them no end of grief over.
I tracked the unit and the wires to the main door switch and pulled everything out of the two cars the day after I brought them home. I wasn't hard to find since they just used blue quick splices to attach the system to the factory harness. After I took out the systems and dumped them on the floor, it looked like a mess of spaghetti attached to some Radio Shack project boxes. I had to remove the door panels and kickplate garnish off to get to the connections, which you really shouldn't have to do the day after you bring a brand new car (or pair of cars) home.
Which brings me to this question: how is a system like the one you describe any better than what modern vehicles are already equipped with straight out of the Nissan factory? Short of leaving your key in the car with the engine running while you go grocery shopping, it's pretty difficult to get past the security features that come with modern cars from the factory.
I tracked the unit and the wires to the main door switch and pulled everything out of the two cars the day after I brought them home. I wasn't hard to find since they just used blue quick splices to attach the system to the factory harness. After I took out the systems and dumped them on the floor, it looked like a mess of spaghetti attached to some Radio Shack project boxes. I had to remove the door panels and kickplate garnish off to get to the connections, which you really shouldn't have to do the day after you bring a brand new car (or pair of cars) home.
Which brings me to this question: how is a system like the one you describe any better than what modern vehicles are already equipped with straight out of the Nissan factory? Short of leaving your key in the car with the engine running while you go grocery shopping, it's pretty difficult to get past the security features that come with modern cars from the factory.
We want our device to be as discrete and passive as possible. Kind of like when you put on your seat belt to keep yourself safe in case of an accident, we aim to make the authenticator the same way. Put it on and drive knowing that your vehicle is safe too.
Imagine if you were driving and a deranged person stopped you and hijacked your vehicle (it's rare but not uncommon). As soon as the offender drives off, the system will detect the absence of your authenticator device and start a count down timer till shut off. What are the benefits of this? 1) It's automatic. There is no need to get on your phone to call someone or do anything. 2) The offender is most likely a threat. They will be far enough away from you when the car shuts off that they cannot harm you. By this time you can be away and at a safe place while the police are on their way. 3) Your vehicle is now off, police are on their way and your vehicle will be retrieved without a car chase- eliminating damage to your vehicle and putting people's lives at risk.
In 2015, there were over 700,000 vehicles stolen nationwide according to the FBI's database. In 2012 alone, people lost an estimated 4.3 billion dollars in auto theft. Just to give an idea. If more people had a device like ours, we believe that a great number of these car thefts would not be possible.
Lastly, I wanted to add that it's an innovation that we see a lot of potential in. We are starting with cars but would like to expand towards other motor vehicles, homes and even bikes (especially since e-bikes are on the rise).
Last edited by Arrtus; 09-29-2017 at 09:45 AM.
09-29-2017, 10:35 AM
#4
New Member
I agree insofar that it would be a useful security feature you could retrofit on an older car or if you live in an environment where carjacking is an issue.
Regarding larger-scale auto theft, my father was a Fed who worked on a task force with multiple local and international law enforcement agencies back when the Seattle-Tacoma area was the #1 location for vehicle thefts. The proximity to ports and a large Russian Mafia presence was responsible for this, and the majority of the cars that were identified as stolen from our state ended up in Vladivostok, Russia to be moved on to other locations throughout Asia and Eastern Europe. The majority of those vehicles were stolen using tow trucks and flatbed trucks that were disguised as ones belonging to companies with municipal towing contracts, so that when the motion-activated alarm systems on the stolen vehicles were blaring, people would figure they were just being towed away for parking violations. Closing down the Russian Mob was a huge pain in the butt and it's still a problem around here, but on a much smaller scale (since enforcement at the Ports is much more effective now.)
If a major benefit to this system is that it eliminates monthly subscriptions by disabling vehicles after a certain predetermined algorithm is met, does the technology allow for the car to be tracked, such as what subscription services like OnStar provides? Also, without delving into anything proprietary about your product, can it be bypassed simply by removing the module in some chop shop in Novosibirsk?
The reason I ask is because consumers would be more inclined to buy a product that acts as an integrated security suite (i.e., disabler, tracker, alarm) as opposed to a security product that only serves one specific purpose. Splicing aftermarket security systems into a vehicle (particularly ones with factory-installed systems) is a lot of work. If there's only one benefit to the product, then it lacks value to anyone outside a specific consumer subset.
I'm not trying to rip your product apart, I'm just struggling to understand how your product will fill a market niche that hasn't already been met.
Regarding larger-scale auto theft, my father was a Fed who worked on a task force with multiple local and international law enforcement agencies back when the Seattle-Tacoma area was the #1 location for vehicle thefts. The proximity to ports and a large Russian Mafia presence was responsible for this, and the majority of the cars that were identified as stolen from our state ended up in Vladivostok, Russia to be moved on to other locations throughout Asia and Eastern Europe. The majority of those vehicles were stolen using tow trucks and flatbed trucks that were disguised as ones belonging to companies with municipal towing contracts, so that when the motion-activated alarm systems on the stolen vehicles were blaring, people would figure they were just being towed away for parking violations. Closing down the Russian Mob was a huge pain in the butt and it's still a problem around here, but on a much smaller scale (since enforcement at the Ports is much more effective now.)
If a major benefit to this system is that it eliminates monthly subscriptions by disabling vehicles after a certain predetermined algorithm is met, does the technology allow for the car to be tracked, such as what subscription services like OnStar provides? Also, without delving into anything proprietary about your product, can it be bypassed simply by removing the module in some chop shop in Novosibirsk?
The reason I ask is because consumers would be more inclined to buy a product that acts as an integrated security suite (i.e., disabler, tracker, alarm) as opposed to a security product that only serves one specific purpose. Splicing aftermarket security systems into a vehicle (particularly ones with factory-installed systems) is a lot of work. If there's only one benefit to the product, then it lacks value to anyone outside a specific consumer subset.
I'm not trying to rip your product apart, I'm just struggling to understand how your product will fill a market niche that hasn't already been met.
09-29-2017, 03:11 PM
#5
Sounds like a horrible idea, cars have already become a technological nightmare, adding more garbage that can malfunction and cause more problems is totally unnecessary...
That being said they already have these types of devices, and have for many years... aftermarket garbage alarms can be wired to do all sorts of annoying things here in 2017.
Your target customer would be minimal, and they should probably save the anti theft money for better living (and parking) arrangements.
That being said they already have these types of devices, and have for many years... aftermarket garbage alarms can be wired to do all sorts of annoying things here in 2017.
Your target customer would be minimal, and they should probably save the anti theft money for better living (and parking) arrangements.