A wild idea to protect bikes in a condo | GTAMotorcycle.com

A wild idea to protect bikes in a condo

codemonk

codemonk

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So I have a wild idea to better protect the bikes in a condo environment:


It would be relatively cheap (less than $300) as the construction is based on commercially available components and it could be financially viable for the condo corporation without any major infrastructure changes.


Here is the idea: Lets have a small Raspebry PI based device with a standard electrical relay installed between the garage door opening motor and the sensor(s) that trigger the door. Preferably in a nondescript small industrial grade plastic box right over the exit lane.


Motorcycle owners would be issued a small Bluetoooth-LE fob by the condo for a minor monthly fee (lets say $2 / month). The fob would be placed on the bikes somewhere hard to find (lets say under the locked seat). These new low power fobs are very small and supposed to last 3 years on a battery. The Bluetooth 4 specification has some nice new features that allow proximity based computing and that is what we are going to use.



  • When the thief's approach the parking garage exit with the bike in their truck the computer detect the proximity of the fob and simply prevents the door to open by opening the sensor circuit(s). They are stuck right there, meanwhile a silent alarm is sent (via wi-fi) to the building security and the owners.
  • When the rightful owner wish to use their bike they just remove the fob and leave it in the parking spot before leaving.
  • Guest fobs for overnight visitors may be also available for rent for a nominal fee.
  • The system is optional so if somebody does not want to participate there is no cost for them.
  • Even car or bicycle owners might be interested as this would work equally well for any vehicle.
  • Loss of one fob would not compromises the security of the system.
  • There are no keys to lose, codes to remember or anything to install on the vehicles.
  • The system can be self financing so there is no cost for the condo.


Some other advanced twists could be added to the software to further enhance the system:

  • We can detect Bluetooth jamming by installing a "control fob" a few meter from the device. If connection to this control fob is lost then we know that someone is using bluetooth jamming and prevent opening the door
  • We can do the same with GPS signal detection. A large decrease in GPS signal could also trigger a door lockdown.
  • We can add some time delay logic too. After triggering the device with a fob just backing out of range and triggering the door manually would not work either.

How about some preventive action ?

  • When a careless thief enters through the door with an active GPS or Bluetooth jammer the loss of signal would also trigger a silent alarm. This would allow building security to watch them, call the police or do something even before they start stealing anything.

How to test the system or check that your fobs battery is still working?

  • Just keep the fob on the bike and try to drive out. If the door is not opening then it works.

Ok this is just a wild idea by a software guy - go ahead tell me why it would not work 90% of the time.

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The only issue i might see with such a device, you are locking people inside, and some would start to argue that it could be a fire hazard situation...
 
darkav said:
The only issue i might see with such a device, you are locking people inside, and some would start to argue that it could be a fire hazard situation...
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Oh yea...might even be criminal charges. Not to mention they will probably mess allot of **** up and cost you a fortune...as they panic trying to get out
 
A good argument - But I'm not locking them into their vehicle, just enforce access control and delay them until the authorities can respond. I assume that condos are in metropolitan ares and we need about 5 minutes of delay.

In case of an emergency they can leave the vehicle and get to safety through the building access doors. I assume that in the event this system ever built the biggest issue would be that building security would find a lot of abandoned stolen vans with bikes in them blocking the exit lanes.
 
Parking garages do have fire exits so I don't know if that would be considered a fire hazard. What happens if someone's battery runs out though? Wouldn't that lock down the garage indefinitely until that person reinstalls a new battery? What if they are on vacation or away for the weekend?
 
codemonk said:
I assume that in the event this system ever built the biggest issue would be that building security would find a lot of abandoned stolen vans with bikes in them blocking the exit lanes.
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This is not the issue, this is a solution ;)
Now they know they may loose their vehilce too ;)

P.S. on a futuristic note, why not put an EMP in the bike, bike is off, it will not affect its performance, but anything running will no longer run ;)
 
In theory a brilliant idea, in reality the device needs to be idiot proof. So good luck with that. It will just take a few false alarms by people forgetting to remove the device before exiting the garage and the whole scheme will be shut down. Unless of course you could program the device to send a warning beep/flash that it is still attached to the bike when you start it.
 
Its a good idea
 
bboySushi said:
Parking garages do have fire exits so I don't know if that would be considered a fire hazard. What happens if someone's battery runs out though? Wouldn't that lock down the garage indefinitely until that person reinstalls a new battery? What if they are on vacation or away for the weekend?
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Batteries last 3 years.
A dead battery would be allowing exiting any time. Users can test the batteries themselves by trying to trigger to system.
 
Two50noob said:
Oh yea...might even be criminal charges. Not to mention they will probably mess allot of **** up and cost you a fortune...as they panic trying to get out
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Have you ever visited a real high-end jewelry store ? With the double door access control system where you are locked between two bullet proof doors when you enter and exit ? I think the same precedent would apply here too. A condo garage is a private property so even a citizen arrest might be possible but I'm not a lawyer.

My assumption is that thief's would panic and flee on foot leaving everything behind.
 
codemonk said:
Batteries last 3 years.
A dead battery would be allowing exiting any time. Users can test the batteries themselves by trying to trigger to system.
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Power should not be an issue, a little fob with the tracker could run off a simple watch battery! Its a proximity sensor, not a gps tracker around the world ;)
 
HarleyHare said:
In theory a brilliant idea, in reality the device needs to be idiot proof. So good luck with that. It will just take a few false alarms by people forgetting to remove the device before exiting the garage and the whole scheme will be shut down. Unless of course you could program the device to send a warning beep/flash that it is still attached to the bike when you start it.
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It is just an idea at this point - commercialization would take some time and iterations to make it idiot proof.
I can see making a smart phone app that warns you if your tile is not removed when leaving or warns you if your battery is low.
 
It would be easier and cheaper to install video cameras everywhere. They don't do this because what sells condos is the lobby and pool.
 
CafeRay said:
It would be easier and cheaper to install video cameras everywhere. They don't do this because what sells condos is the lobby and pool.
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Video cameras don't stop thieves.

I like the idea OP. I think that it would be viable.
 
You just put a unique product on a public forum. you should be developing, patenting and tryign to market this.

it's a good idea.
 
Wasted said:
Video cameras don't stop thieves.
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Sure they do, there was a massive drop in theft after London installed CCTV everywhere. These days, facial recognition software is as accurate as finger prints.

There are good reasons why public places and retail invest in CCTV.

Condos need motorcycle lockers that do not allow the bike to be seen, plus cameras. No one is going to risk jail for what potentially is a Hyosung 125.

This gadget idea has too many potential pitfalls.
 
CafeRay said:
It would be easier and cheaper to install video cameras everywhere. They don't do this because what sells condos is the lobby and pool.
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And this is why cost and financial viability is important. It is easier to convince a board to have something installed if that does not cost them anything (monthly fees cover the cost of the system)
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