France: Motorcycle Security Tattoo Now With RFID |
|
|
File under France Safety
Author: Mike Werner
Location: Normandy, France
|
|
Most motorcycles (and cars) in France have several tattoos, usually because the insurance company makes it mandatory if you want to be insured. Some tattoos are visible (as a deterrent), some not so. If your motorcycle gets stolen and resold, the tattoo serial number allows a person (buyer, dealer, police) to find out who the real owner is, and since the tattoo is often placed on expensive bike components, selling parts of the motorcycle is complicated. It's not impossible (8 motorized two wheelers are stolen every hour in France) but it does slow down the Sunday-thief.
Now the largest motorcycle tattoo company in France, ICA  , is offering an additional high-tech tattoo. They'll still place the serial number as a tattoo in strategically placed locations on your motorcycle, but now they also give you a RFID strip which you can place anywhere you want (obviously you'll want to hide it). RFIDRadio-frequency identification (RFID) is the use of an object (typically referred to as an RFID tag) applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.
Most RFID tags contain at least two parts. One is an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, modulating and demodulating a radio-frequency (RF) signal, and other specialized functions. The second is an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal.
There are generally three types of RFID tags: active RFID tags, which contain a battery and can transmit signals autonomously, passive RFID tags, which have no battery and require an external source to provoke signal transmission and battery assisted passive (BAP) which require an external source to wake up but have significant higher forward link capability providing great read range.
Today, RFID is used in enterprise supply chain management to improve the efficiency of inventory tracking and management. , meaning Radio Frequency IDentification - or the possibility to receive electronic information from objects remotely (like items in a store, when you walk out without paying), is very small so difficult to spot.
The idea is if a thief is taking your motorcycle abroad to be sold or stripped, RFID readers are installed in most exit points (ferry, borders, etc), and cops will have portable RFID readers. When they raid a chop-shop, they can quickly find who the owners of the parts or motorcycles are. The RFID number is automatically transmitted to a central server where previously owners who have had their motorcycle (or car) stolen will have communicated this.
This is yet another thing that thieves will have to take into account. Obviously the professional thieves might just be slowed down for a few seconds, but there's little doubt they'll come up with a solution. But the occasional or on-spur-of-the-moment thief will have problems selling the bike.
Click here to read more about the RFID tattoo (in French)
Via: Le Repaire des Motards
|
|
|
Click here to Show/Hide 
