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'Herds' of Wary Cars Could Keep an Eye Out for Thieves
from New Scientist
A new approach to car alarms gets vehicles to watch each others' backs like a herd of animals under threat from predators.
The security system relies on networks of cars constantly gossiping with their neighbours using concealed wireless transmitters. The cars raise the alarm when a thief tries to make a getaway with any of their number.
"Multiple sensors hidden within the car would make it difficult, if not impossible, for a car thief to disable the system in a short period of time," says Hui Song from Frostburg State University, Maryland, US, who designed the system -- called SVATS (Sensor-network-based Vehicle Anti-theft System) -- with colleagues at Pennsylvania State University.
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