Bicycle Tracking Device Survey

[TriGuru76]

Hi all Hubbers

 

With the recent increase of bicycle hijackings and thefts, there is an ever-growing demand for tracking of bicycles.

 

The culprits are committing this crime over and over as they see cyclists as soft targets.

No tracking device will ever stop a hijacker from injuring the cyclist, but one can certainly attempt to track where the bikes are going.

There are many talks that these bicycles are stolen “on order” by a syndicate who pays them next to nothing and then resells the bike into the market.

 

One would need to understand the pro’s and con’s to tracking devices before such a product can be developed. There are a number of small devices available, but none that has been truly effective + no one in the market has offered a "Recovery" function as yet.

 

So we are conducting a survey to get the all your input and Needs into the basket of requirements.

 

GPS/GSM tracking vs RF tracking.

 

GPS/GSM tracking

- This device will run on a GSM sim card.

- You would need to sign a 24 month + GSM contract with airtime.

- GPS reception is required to be able to locate the device..

- Prepaid is not ideal. Should the airtime run out on the unit, it will not be able to transmit the information in case of a theft.

- The hardware is more expensive and bigger.

- Cannot transmit through Aluminium

- The upside is the accuracy is to with in 10sqm

 

RF Tracking (Radio Frequency Wave)

- This device can be small and shaped to fit into various tubes.

- It’s light

- It’s cheaper

- Relies on RF signal to be tracked (think of an animal tracking collar)

- It’s accurate to with in 400sqm

 

In both cases the challenge is battery life, both devices can be put into sleep mode, but might require periodic charging to ensure that the device works optimally when required in an emergency /crime situation

 

So here is the challenge. We would like to conduct a survey of who would buy a tracking device for their bicycle, should one be made available on the market?

Many companies don't develop this kind of product as the demand is not high enough. the only time it will most probably be high enough is when the insurance companies start forcing you to have a tracking device on a bike before they insure you.

 

Costs would probably be approx. R1000-R1500 for the hardware and an annual software license fee of Approx R800 (to include recovery in case of theft)

 

If the demand is high enough, we can look at designing one that fits the needs.

Lets get your votes.

Edited November 1, 2013 by TriGuru76