High-tech solutions key to car security

By T. Uncle

YOU arrive home in the dark, step out of the car and fumble around trying find which of the keys on the bunch locks the car and which opens the front door.

It is a common enough problem but one which is slowly disappearing as carmakers are increasingly taking vehicle and personal security more seriously.

The security systems used by many of today's carmakers reflect the increasing risk of car theft and combine high-technology electronics with levels of user convenience that once would have been unimaginable.

To put this into perspective, think about the frustration of trying to open your car on a dark wet night in the past and compare it with the ease and convenience offered in many of today's cars.

Simply aim the small keypad, press a button, and an encoded signal is sent to the car which proceeds to unlock itself, disarm the alarm system and engine immobilizer and turn on the interior light.

In one swift action, the vehicle is made far more secure than was possible using any system from the past.

Many carmakers have found that modern protection systems have had a dramatic effect in reducing the incidence of car theft.

Insurance company surveys show that cars are becoming more and more difficult to steal as electronics are used to wage war against thieves.

The advent of central locking, and the adoption of remote control devices, was perhaps the turning point for upgraded motor vehicle security.

French carmaker Renault, was one of the first to use remote control central locking when it introduced its "Plip" system in the early 1980s.

Others followed, making life more difficult for would-be thieves and easier for motorists.

The addition of extra protective measures such as engine immobilizers, that make the engine inoperable without the correct key, and deadlocking, that makes it impossible to open the doors from inside -- even if the car is broken into, added to the barriers a car-napper had to face.

It would be reasonable to think that with the levels of security provided by these systems that perform all their security functions at the press of a button, carmakers might have been able to relax a little.

Of course that is not the case and with each new car release, security innovations are treated with the same degree of importance as advances in other areas, such as safety, comfort and performance.

And that added security is often enhanced by improved convenience.

Australian carmaker Holden, for example, has introduced a "Powerkey" system on its new top-of-the-range Calais.

The system not only performs all the usual security functions, but adds the convenience of two separate keys that actually tell the car's computer who is about to enter the car and allow it to adjust to suit the person's particular requirements.

The system controls such functions as the sound system, the automatic transmission setting and the climate control and will adjust these to the person's predetermined preferences.

One of the most clever aspects of the system is the electronic coding that provides a "fingerprint" identifying the correct key.

With an almost limitless variation in codes -- the new model has 16 million codes between the engine and the security module -- cracking the codes, even with sophisticated computer equipment, is virtually impossible.

Mercedes-Benz is also pushing the boundaries with it's new electronic key slowly filtering trough the company's passenger car range.

First introduced on the CLK coupe last year, the electronic key does away with the tradition ignition lock and key and replaces it with a wedge shaped "tongue" that is inserted into the ignition and turned slightly.

The Mercedes key "talks" to the ignition/starter switch and compares the codes within each.

After every use, new values are stored in both the ignition switch and the key to ensure there is no constant value encoded into the system.

This process is taken even further after initial verification that the correct key has been used with the engine's computer asking the ignition switch to calculate a random numerical value that is not stored in any memory.

The computer also performs the same calculation and compares the results. If they are the same, the engine will then start.

The whole process takes about 30 seconds or somewhat less than it would take a thief using a powerful computer to calculate all the variations. Mercedes says this would take something like 99 years...

The Mercedes system also takes no chances with the method of transmitting signals via the remote-control key.

The housing transmits both radio waves and infrared signals to receivers located on the car, giving a longer operating range with greater reliability.

Systems such as these are becoming common features of new luxury and prestige cars and are slowly finding their way into the volume market as economies of scale make them less expensive to produce.

It is conceivable that before too long, all new cars will have some sort of built-in security system as a standard feature.

From a car thief's point of view, this is not good news.