1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
For man to live without fear, he needs to be secured. Security has become one of the important concept of the world, every country is always security conscious of her domain. Even as man needs security, so are the different facilities used by him. Since these facilities are imperatively useful and most times expensive, there is therefore the need for them to be safe-guarded against an unauthorized user.
In recent times, automobile has provided a means of transportation for man to move within and even far outside his immediate environment.
Since these automobiles are expensive and important to the owner, they therefore require security device(s) to safe guard or protect them from intruders.
Having known that there are different kinds of automobiles, we will steer our attention specifically on car automobiles.
The Anti-car theft security device is an electronic device that can be mounted in a car such that when the car is tampered without official approval or permission, the security device will produce an alerting signal and at most disable the entire system of the car from functioning.
It can be a switch or alarms that will be known by authorize persons. For example, an Anti — Car Theft security devices can be mounted in a car such that whenever the car is tampered, it can allow the car to run for some time and stop or it can disable the car system and cause the car to malfunction.
1.2 Vehicles Most Frequently Stolen
The makes and models of vehicle most frequently stolen vary by several factors, including region and ease of theft.
Some models often on list of most frequently stolen vehicles in United state include Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Cheroke Jeep and Cadillac.
In Thailand: Toyota Cars, Isuzu pick-up trucks, Honda cars and Honda motorcycles (2007 data).
1.3 Prevention
There are various methods of prevention to reduce the likelihood of vehicle getting stolen. These include physical barriers, which make the effort of stealing the vehicle more difficult. Some of these include:
- Device used to lock a part of the vehicle necessary in its operation such as the steering wheel or brake pedal.
- Immobilizers, allowing the vehicle to start only if a key containing the correct chip is present in the ignition.
- Car alarm systems that are triggered if a breaking and entry into the vehicle occurs.
- Microdot identification tags which allow individual parts of a vehicle to be identified.
- Kill switch circuits are designed to frustrate or slow down the efforts of a determined Car thief. Kill switches are often located between crucial parts of the coil, or the fuel pump.
A car cannot start without first flopping these kill switches in to closed positions. Smart car owners hide kill switches in obscured areas, under the dash board, beneath the seat, behind a chair, etc.
1.4 Objective of the Study
The issue of car theft or hijacking has become a problem that can not be over looked. Every day on television, radio or Newspapers we hear/read about different cars snatched from the hands of their owners at gun points and often times cars are stolen from where they are parked by unknown persons. Sometimes, the owners of these cars might not be around or near enough to see when their cars are being tampered.
The main objective of this project is to build an anti — car theft device that can be mounted in a car and when the car is tampered it will disable the car system from functioning properly until the security device is turned off.
The purpose of this project is not to build a device that will alert the owner of the car, but a device that will be able to safeguard the car from theft or hijacking whether it is in motion or packed in the garaged.
1.5 Significance of the Project
The importance of this project will be divided into two and we consider them briefly. Thus:
- The importance of this project to the students; and
- The importance of this project to the society.
The Importance of the Project To The Students:
The building of this project will enhance the students knowledge on technology, and further make them to know and identify the different electronics components used in the process of building the project. It will also give the students the ability to understand the processes and mode of operation of device.
The Importance of the Project To The Society
As stated earlier in the beginning of this work, security is one of the important concepts of the world. The building of this project bring about the remedy or the solution to car theft, it will also reduce the danger(s) encountered by the people in the hands of car snatchers.
1.6 Scope of Study
The scope of this research is focused on the Design and Construction of an Anti-Car Theft Device.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).
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