NEW DELHI: You're in NY City busy negotiating the bend off Lexington when you hear a beep on that handphone.
Somebody back home in New Delhi is fiddling with your four-wheeler. You're on boil but this time you shall foil — any chance of theft, that is.
All you need to do is speak easy on your cellphone. A few voice commands and the car is jammed, or even tracked from the back of beyond. The server has overtaken the driver.
Now if you thought that's straight out of some art nouveau sci-fi, brace up for a reality check. Auto component makers ranging from Tata's TACO MobiApps Telematics to Pune-based BioEnable Technologies to Thrissur-based Altosoft Technologies are using mobile SIM cards and the GSM module to communicate with vehicles.
It's simple. A replica SIM of the mobile is placed in the car, which in turn communicates with the ignition. The technology is new but safety being an issue, customised units are fast disappearing off the shelves.
“Instructions can range from locking, opening, starting a vehicle or car AC to tracking the exact position of the vehicle," managing director of the Rs 50-lakh Altosoft Technologies. The company is just a year-and-a-half-old and has priced its hardware in the Rs 12,000-18,000 bracket, depending on the bells and whistles.
“There's a jammer inside the car that wirelessly communicates with the ignition, and it can be integrated with software to even monitor fleet management," adds Stanley. Until now, the company has sold 300 units.
While Stanley's company is focusing more on passenger cars, TACO MobiApps Telematics, a joint venture between Tata and MobiApps of Singapore, is focusing on commercial vehicles and claims to have an overall 45% marketshare with its trako brand. “Over the last 6-8 months, the market has boomed and we are targeting the 3 million-odd trucks that ply on Indian roads," says Ramesh Narain, CEO of TACO MobiApps Telematics.
For the company, government contracts are easy to come by nowadays, thanks largely to an initiative of the Ministry of Petroleum last August, which stated that any hazardous gas-carrying vehicle must have a GPS-enabled GPRS tracking system. The company has already sold 6,000 units to BPCL and other gas companies.
“Besides, 10,000 units are under implementation since every single customer needs customisation according to his/her needs," he adds. It costs anywhere between Rs 12,000-15,000 to install the TACO hardware in vehicles, with a monthly GPRS subscription ranging from Rs 300-500.
Somebody back home in New Delhi is fiddling with your four-wheeler. You're on boil but this time you shall foil — any chance of theft, that is.
All you need to do is speak easy on your cellphone. A few voice commands and the car is jammed, or even tracked from the back of beyond. The server has overtaken the driver.
Now if you thought that's straight out of some art nouveau sci-fi, brace up for a reality check. Auto component makers ranging from Tata's TACO MobiApps Telematics to Pune-based BioEnable Technologies to Thrissur-based Altosoft Technologies are using mobile SIM cards and the GSM module to communicate with vehicles.
It's simple. A replica SIM of the mobile is placed in the car, which in turn communicates with the ignition. The technology is new but safety being an issue, customised units are fast disappearing off the shelves.
“Instructions can range from locking, opening, starting a vehicle or car AC to tracking the exact position of the vehicle," managing director of the Rs 50-lakh Altosoft Technologies. The company is just a year-and-a-half-old and has priced its hardware in the Rs 12,000-18,000 bracket, depending on the bells and whistles.
“There's a jammer inside the car that wirelessly communicates with the ignition, and it can be integrated with software to even monitor fleet management," adds Stanley. Until now, the company has sold 300 units.
While Stanley's company is focusing more on passenger cars, TACO MobiApps Telematics, a joint venture between Tata and MobiApps of Singapore, is focusing on commercial vehicles and claims to have an overall 45% marketshare with its trako brand. “Over the last 6-8 months, the market has boomed and we are targeting the 3 million-odd trucks that ply on Indian roads," says Ramesh Narain, CEO of TACO MobiApps Telematics.
For the company, government contracts are easy to come by nowadays, thanks largely to an initiative of the Ministry of Petroleum last August, which stated that any hazardous gas-carrying vehicle must have a GPS-enabled GPRS tracking system. The company has already sold 6,000 units to BPCL and other gas companies.
“Besides, 10,000 units are under implementation since every single customer needs customisation according to his/her needs," he adds. It costs anywhere between Rs 12,000-15,000 to install the TACO hardware in vehicles, with a monthly GPRS subscription ranging from Rs 300-500.
Now, dial C to catch a car thief
![Now, dial C to catch a car thief]()
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