In UK, an interesting experiment, called WASP, uses RFID against theft of bicycles. Kryptonite designed a lock equipped with RFID and a motion sensor. The concept combines several elements:

• The lock
• A detector of RFID that covers a zone
• A CCTV system that covers the same zone.

If ever the lock is moved, it activates the RFID. This is detected by the RFID readers which trigger a signal in the CCTV central. It is then possible to visualize who is trying to steal the bike.

The more constraining part of the system is the activation of the system. When the user stores his bike, he has to phone to a central system to indicate the identification of the area of protection. This starts the protection phase. When the user wants to take back his cycle, he has to phone back to the central system before unlocking the bike. WASP system is currently being tested at the University of Portsmouth.

Law 6 is once more interesting. As could have been expected, many people are already not anymore activating the phone call. The lock being blinking, they expect it to be deterrent enough. The activation phase seems to me very constraining. You will have two types of false positive: people who inadvertently move the bike, thus the lock, and of course the owner who forgot to call back to trigger deactivation.

In any case, an interesting combination.

To learn more, a presentation and the operator SOS Response