What if you could text your car to stop, and have it stop moving when it is stolen? That is just one part of an anti-theft idea from self-taught inventor, Morris Mbetsa, and 18 year old who lives in Kenya.
Mbetsa’s invention uses voice, DTMC and SMS text messages over a wireless service to carry codes and messages to control a vehicle’s electrical systems. The system can manage vehicle activation and disable the car in real time, so if the car is stolen, the car owner can send a message to immediately stop the car. Mbetsa’s invention also has a tracking device that will locate the car on a map.
The system also features the ability to call the car’s owner for permission to start the car, and allows the owner to listen in on conversations in the vehicle.
Mbetsa said he got the idea for the device a few years ago, when someone carjacked his friend’s car.
The invention may go over well with people who wish to add car security to their vehicles without subscribing to satellite services such as OnStar or Ford’s Sync.
This invention may interest people who have older vehicles not equipped with OnStar or Sync, or lower-income people who can afford a cell phone, but not necessarily afford a monthly subscription fee.
Photo by Mathieu Gasnier