DAT Announces Development of 'Sky Vision 2000' Commercial Vehicle Mounted Anti-Theft Camera Unit Incorporating Satellite Data Communications see bolded areas below
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Diversified Auto Technology (DAT), a U.S. transport electronic development company, announced its plans to introduce ``Sky Vision 2000,' its On-Board Anti-Theft camera unit for commercial trailers.
Big Brother? ... you bet, but for a good purpose. Soon, fleet owners and individual owners of commercial vehicles that carry the daily cargo we need to survive, can enjoy what only governments in the past have relished ... ``spying.' In this case it will be to their advantage as the spying will be on their equipment and their cargo.
With the reported estimates of stolen commercial trailer cargo in the United States ranging from $6 billion to $12 billion a year, DAT's engineers were prompted to develop and incorporate this technology into it's ``Vehicle Data Recorder System' (VDRS). The system is planned to be introduced by the end of the year. A recent quote from Transport Topics, a trucking industry internet and print newspaper, stated that Assistant FBI Director Thomas Pickard said, ``Vehicle and cargo thefts are becoming crimes of choice for organized crime groups.'
The VDRS currently under development is comprised of Accident Recordation, Anti-Theft, and Electronic Log Book technologies as its base system. Weigh- in-Motion, Electronic Fee Collection, Global Positioning (GPS), Wireless Communications (Cellular Satellite, and Two-Way Mobil Radio), Voice-Command, Voice Synthesis and Navigation technologies will be offered as modular or up- gradable ``plug-in' options.
``Convergence' is DAT's goal. With the addition of the ``Sky Vision 2000' technology, the VDRS truly will be remarkable as the only complete system serving the trucking industry that integrates protection and control.
The ``Sky Vision 2000' will contain a number of strategically located vehicle mounted miniaturized cameras that will be capable of capturing images in a dark environment as well as daylight. The proprietary software will be configured to recognize a theft condition, snap a sequential set of photo images and immediately transmit the images via satellite communication to a central North American monitoring facility. Should any attempt be made to destroy or tamper with the vehicular mounted VDRS prior to a cargo theft, the proprietary software will recognize the attempt and transmit that an emergency condition exists. In addition, high intensity vehicular mounted strobe lamps will automatically be engaged to flash intermittently upon receiving predetermined software instructions. The vehicle operator will also have the ability to manually engage this option. The strobe lamps, capable of being seen at long distances, will produce a ``light show' comparable to an outdoor rock concert. Such a ``light show' will be advantageous in alerting law enforcement officials to the possibility of a cargo theft in progress.
The considerations as to which satellite telecommunications company DAT will be utilizing still remains to be decided as both Iridium (18% owned by Motorola) and ICO Global Communications (British) are currently in a bankruptcy reorganization position.(ed. LOL) The new Globalstar venture to DAT's understanding will launch this month. DAT foresees the tens of millions of dollars of anticipated satellite telecommunications revenue that would be generated yearly from the VDRS to be the ideal marketing dream for any telecommunications entity owning satellites.
In addressing the worldwide problem of commercial cargo theft, DAT is informed that the U.S., European, and Mexican trucking industry suffers an estimated yearly loss of $10 billion to $20 billion dollars.
The ``Sky Vision 2000' feature is anticipated to be available by the first quarter of next year.
SOURCE: Transport Topics, July 5 1999 ``Cargo Thieves Stealing on Demand,' by Daniel Whitten |
