bladox.com

[wookie]

Hi guys!

I'm thinking about yet another usage of AutoAlarm. What parts would be need in order to put together a GPS+autoalarm box:

1. gps/gsm/gprs modem - Siemens XT55
2. autoalarm from Bladox
3. turbosim? (must be in the box?)

My cost estimation come around 200 euros for the box (if turbosim isn't included). How close am I to the real estimate? Mind you I didn't use bulk prices for calculation. So, if the parts are bought in bulk, the price can be sliced 20-30%.

The box would connect to the car's computer.

Now, the similar box+installation comes at around 1100 USD in Ukraine. Add 38 USD/month as a service fee - a pretty hefty pricetag, isn't it? Surely, they are aiming only at top priced vehicles.

With the new box there is a possiblity for aggressive pricing and maybe even to sell it a below-profit price to sign up people for 2year contracts. Basically, if you sell it for 100$ and charge 20$/month, you loose 100$ first month, but get person for 2 years and a revenue stream of 24*20 = 480$.

Now we come to how we could offer a service to car owners.

Basically, the service is an anti-theft and car tracking service. An extra could service of driving directions could be offered, provided the user has a PDA with map software installed.

Anti-theft could be working as following: after all installations are done, the user registers his phone number and phone number of people authorised to drive his vehicle.

Whenever a person decides to lock the car, he sends a SMS to a specified service number. Whenever sms is received the car is locked. If the car is then opened, a user gets an immediate alarm, asking him to react. If it is the USER who opened the car, he replies with a certain code to set alarm off.

If it is the buglars who caused the system to send a distress SMS, user sends in distress message to the operators who are then connecting to the police informing them of the incident and coordinating the vehicles location.

Then we come a problem when buglars know about such anti-theft box. Say they want to deactivate the box, and make sure they'll succeed at that. But the box should detect if it is being disconnected from power source to send distress SMS to the service center. I wonder how can this be achieved. Any ideas? Maybe a little battery would help? But what if they remove it first? Or simultaneously with main power source?

Promotion part could be done in several ways : first of all, through car insurance companies, as they will surely like this solution to reduce their risk. Then we have auto dealers and repair shops. And make sure there's an online shop for do-it-yourself individuals to buy and install the box by themselves.

Now, I'd like to invite everybody to post your feedback.

[pz]

[wookie]

Hi pz,

Thanks for getting back.

I'd like to ask how much sensetive movement/tilt detection could be? Could it detect movement as slow as 2-3 km/h ?

The reason I'm asking is because many expensive cars are being stolen with the use of transporter on which the car is loaded and send kept inside the box that doesn't let through any kind of wireless transmission. So to detect theft, you have to detect if car is being moved inside the box at the very low speed.

[pz]

It should be sensitive enough - it's not question of speed but more acceleration and tilt. It can detect e.g. tire removal.

[wookie]

how sensetive it is though?

say, if car is being slowly pushed from the dead stop, will autoalarm detect the change?

[pz]

This is a hard one, how do you define sensitivity? How slowly pushed? If e.g. 1m per minute then no but thieves have to be faster, I guess. There will be some tilt when car is being put into truck, no?
Also if you needed more sensitivity then you can connect external sensor to alarm#1/2 inputs.

[alexv]

Hi Wookie,

Email me for some information on this project that does not need to be advertised in the forum... Thieves have computers too.

//Alexv