Personal vehicle monitoring and tracking system

Friday December 19, 2003

The statistics are compelling - Australia has one of the highest rates of vehicle theft in the western world with a car is stolen every 5 minutes on average and figures for NSW showing that 25% of stolen cars are never found or recovered. Technolgy has come a long way since the humble steering wheel lock in response to this problem with the development of tracking and imobilising systems to proviode 24-hour security for cars. Unlike conventional GPS-based systems, the Australian designed and manufactured monitoring EziTraK system does not require any ongoing or back-to-base fees, providing direct access to tracking, emergency alert and tampering information and control over immobilsation of the vehicle via a phone line.

The PIN protected system calls its owner within seconds of a door opening or ignition detection and the phone menu interface can be used to immobilise the engine or track the vehicle in the event that its towed away. The tracking information can also be downloaded to PC and then played back over moving map display using optional mapping software.

A Black Box Recorder that logs speed, position, time and date from 1 to 255 hours is incorporated into the module for an extra level of protection in the event of an accident and a "panic button" is included which calls a nominated phone number and sends a backup SMS message immediately wehnpressed by someone inside the car.

In addition to these key security functions, the EziTraK system also provides some convenient extras like the ability to lock and unlock the doors remotely, check on your vehicle anytime and obtain a location to within six metres. The system will also let you know when the battery drops below a pre-set voltage level (usually meaning you left the lights on).

The one-off cost of the EziTraK system from Rojone is around A$1000 (plus installation - which takes around two hours if you do it yourself) and the only additional requirement is a GSM SIM card from your mobile network provider.

Because the system works on the existing cellular network, it offers 99% coverage throughout Australia.

Unfortunately cars aren't the only vehicles subject to theft, willful damage or accidents. EziTrack can be used for protection of earth moving equipment, road signage and other vehicles and the company behind the system, Rojone, also produce versions of the phone based security sytem specifically fo boats and bike. BoatBANDIT and BikeBANDIT cost the same as the car system with the latter offering an optional accident detector that alerts you if the bike falls onto its side or suffers a high impact through accident or vandalism .

Visit www.rojone.com.au to learn more.