GPS bullets are latest weapon for American police

It sounds like something out of a James Bond movie - GPS bullets that can track the location of a suspect's car. The bullet is designed to make high-speed chases safer -enabling the authorities to track suspects without having to risk theirs or others' lives.

And in true spy fashion the system works by hitting a button inside a police car.

That triggers a lid to pop up releasing a bullet that shoots out and sticks to the car in front. The system, dubbed Starchase, is already in use in four US states - Iowa, Florida, Arizona and Colorado - and the firm behind it is now keen to get the system into the UK.

It costs $5,000 (£3,108) to install and each bullet costs $500 (£312).

BBC News

I dont really like the idea of this, way to open to abuse, just shoot this GPS bullet at any car and the police can sit back and monitor all of the car's movements.

I really hope this does not come over to water to the UK.

Anyway, let me know what you think guys!

There are cheaper trackers available, even to the public. They also don't cause damage to the vehicle. Your fears of abuse are therefore irrelevant for this particular device.

Marsupilami
There are cheaper trackers available, even to the public. They also don't cause damage to the vehicle. Your fears of abuse are therefore irrelevant for this particular device.

I know that there are other devices

I just dont like the idea of one day a police officer hitting my car with one of these things and playing about with his new GPS toy.

its a matter of privacy, I am fed up with them treating us like criminals before we are even suspected of a crime.

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin


Well, first off, it's the Beeb, who are renowned for getting any story wrong that involves GPS.

This thing isn't a "bullet". It's the size of a small Coke can or a Red Bull can, 4.5" x 2".

Basically, they're shooting the car with a cell phone covered in glue. Then they track it like you'd track any cell phone, using cell assisted GPS. At least until the battery runs down.

eta: And they're $500 a pop, so I doubt that you'd either miss it with a casual inspection, or that they'd tag your car for entertainment

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin


Sounds like a product in search of a market...

But then again, this is law enforcement in 2013 and the way they all have been spending $$$ lately (*our* money btw) I wouldn't be surprised if this company sells a lot of them.

cell phone and signal jammers do exist...

Faraday cage garages?

Or just run a current through the car frame? two birds one stone, anti theft and tracking device...

Meh, police state marches on, and every new tech to encroach on rights are gobbled up by big brother.

ETA: its 500 and a soda can now, tomorrow it will be a postage stamp and 5 dollars if moore's law teaches anything.

So, basically? A serious bad guy needs to make sure his outer panels on the rear of the vehicle are electrically insulated from the frame and rest of the car ..with a good hard charge available to throw into what has been insulated, and zap any bugs that get stuck.

Hmm... That took a whole couple minutes to come up with too. Good thing most bad guys aren't too bright.

benrl


ETA: its 500 and a soda can now, tomorrow it will be a postage stamp and 5 dollars if moore's law teaches anything.

edit on 29-10-2013 by benrl because: (no reason given)

Not so much. There's a minimum size set by the GPS and GSM antennas and the battery. You can't make vanishingly small radios - the wavelength dictates the minimum efficient size.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


That won't work either. However, it's really straightforward to disrupt cell phones. We used to make jammers as hobby projects. You can buy them off the shelf but they're a bit hard to tune without a spectrum analyzer.