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Thursday March 10, 2011
CAR ALARM WITH A DIFFERENCE
By CHRISTINA LOW
christinalow@thestar.com.my
Photos by ABDUL HALIM
EVERY TIME R. Ravindran goes out to a shopping mall with his family, one thing he will not forget to do is to send a text message to the four-wheeler, just to know it is safe.
He will then receive a reply in less than a minute informing him of the exact location of the car.
It may sound crazy but for Ravindran, the SMS is the best first-hand news he can get about his vehicle.
The 40-year-old, who is a trained chartered accountant, has a huge passion for security devices after working for a local manufacturer for close to 13 years.
High-tech: Ravindran with the locally made Immo-Com car security device.
During the stint, Ravindran said the company made power windows, car alarms, reverse sensors and central locking systems before supplying it to local car manufacturers.
“When I left the company in 2009 to start one of my own, the home alarm systems was one of our line of products,
“However coming from a car alarm system background, I have always wondered how I can integrate both home and car systems,” he said.
In the same year, he started a project to put together a car alarm system which he felt could be the answer to his problems.
“We have all kinds of security systems for cars in the market. Some are so loud when triggered off and no one knows if your car is being taken away or the system is faulty,” said Ravindran, who is the director of Secure Intellect Technology Sdn Bhd.
Often, no one bothers about it and the owner would probably end up being the last person to find out.
Explaining how the simple system works, Ravindran said: “When your alarm is triggered, the system which runs on a GPS and a phone SIM card would automatically send you a SMS informing you that the car’s alarm has been set off.
“Accompanying the message is the location of the car and also details informing if the car’s engine is switched on or otherwise,” he said.
If the thief stealing your car drives off with the car, the owner can continue sending SMSs to his car and would get replies informing him of its location.
He said he could opt to immobilise the car by typing ‘PW1234;IMMO=ON’ to the car’s phone number.
During the interview, Ravindran said any phone could activate the immobiliser of the car if they knew the password and phone number.
“You should not tell anyone the SIM card number and password.
“However, you can let two family members know the number and password so they too can be informed about the car when the alarm is triggered,” he said.
To demonstrate how the system works, Ravindran showed us the trick on a different cellphone, while driving.
The aim was to immobilise his car and hardly a minute after sending the short SMS, his car came to a halt.
He then sent another SMS ‘PW1234;IMMO=OFF’ and he could restart the engine without a glitch.
“This system is not only simple and easy to use but it informs the car owner directly and is also useful for the police to track the whereabouts of the car,” he said.
The locally produced Immo-Com device by Secure World is small enough to fit into the palm and is currently available at a promotional price of RM1,848 with one year warranty.
Installation takes about 90 minutes and the company has appointed dealers in various parts of the country such as Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak, Malacca, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
Ravindran said the device could also be transferred to another car if one decided to change their vehicles.
For details on the product, call Ravindran at 019-232 2911 or visit www.sit2u.com.my.
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Nik Zafri :
I look into this article and immediately got so interested in it. I sms Mr. Ravindran expressing my interest to republish this article online. Soon, Mr. Ravindran himself returned my call, very nice chap. I told how impressed I am with this statement :
“We have all kinds of security systems for cars in the market. Some are so loud when triggered off and no one knows if your car is being taken away or the system is faulty,”
I hope soon, the system will be interfaced with the PDRM or JPJ so that it makes their job easier as well.
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I then visited the website and got hold of this :
Protect your vehicle and love ones with IMMO-COM. It gives you peace of mind, as your car is always with you wherever you go. It protects your car by communicating and immobilizing through these features:
* INFORM
You will be notify immediately when your car is tampered or break-in.
* STOP
Immobilize your car through your mobile phone wherever you are.
* STATUS
You can check the engine status of your car anytime, anywhere.
* LOCATE
You can track and locate your car through GPS System.
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Nik Zafri :
By the looks of it, I think it can go more than putting the car into a halt, it may also sound the horns, lock the door or probably loud voice alert "You are not an authorized user" followed by an alarm or perhaps automatic dial to PDRM or JPJ.
Kinda like "Knightrider" - I told Mr. Ravindran and he chuckled.
I hope soon, the system will be interfaced with the PDRM or JPJ so that it makes their job easier as well.
And the price is OK by Malaysian standards - I think lower than the current GPS mechanisms - it's worth to try..
