RF Safe-Stop Shuts Down Car Engines With Radio Pulse

An anonymous reader writes with news of a device built by a company in the U.K. which uses pulses of electromagnetic energy to disrupt the electronic systems of modern cars, causing them to shut down and cut the engine. Here's a description of how it works: "At one end of a disused runway, E2V assembled a varied collection of second-hand cars and motorbikes in order to test the prototype against a range of vehicles. In demonstrations seen by the BBC a car drove towards the device at about 15mph (24km/h). As the vehicle entered the range of the RF Safe-stop, its dashboard warning lights and dials behaved erratically, the engine stopped and the car rolled gently to a halt. Digital audio and video recording devices in the vehicle were also affected.''It's a small radar transmitter,' said Andy Wood, product manager for the machine. 'The RF [radio frequency] is pulsed from the unit just as it would be in radar, it couples into the wiring in the car and that disrupts and confuses the electronics in the car causing the engine to stall.'"

Comments

Re:Pros vs Cons

[silas_moeckel]

Option 2 stop chasing them? The FBI's research pretty much shows that they are simply dangerous http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/march-2010/evidence-based-decisions-on-police-pursuits they show that most chases are for minor offences and that the suspects will quickly return to safe driving after the chase is stopped. Pretty much car chases are cops getting an adrenaline rush at the expense of the public.

This disrupts the CAN bus.

[tomtefar]

So the RF interference takes out the CAN bus, which runs communications between the various control units in the vehicle. This is a common problem in electrical vehicles, where the high power/current lines must be routed separately from the CAN bus wires.

There are two problems with this solution

1. Older vehicles are unaffected
Old cars, especially those with carburetors, are unaffected since they don't have any data buses that can pickup the interference.

2. The CAN bus carries safety critical information.
Corrupted data packets, such as by-wire throttle position information, can cause brake failures and/or uncontrolled acceleration when the ECU/TCU bombs out due to noise on the bus. Airbags may also deploy, although that is a bit more far-fetched.

   

Re:Pros vs Cons

[mspohr]

According to this BI article: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-high-tech-gps-tracker-that-is-a-game-changer-for-police-2013-11

"High-speed pursuits cause nearly 400 deaths a year and cost the government more than a billion dollars a year in damages, lawsuits, and medical bills."
"... Fischbach says that in most pursuits a minimum of $3,000 in property damage occurs."

Re: Just wait until...

[ArbitraryName]

I'm sure the "disruption, not damage" thing is going to be very reassuring to the guy with a pacemaker.

The military has actually looked into the effects of EMP on pacemakers. The conclusion is that there is minimal, if any, risk.

Re:Pros vs Cons

[couchslug]

"2: If used on a motorcycle, it can mean the rider can lose control, causing a crash, fatality, and lawsuits."

MC mechanic of many years here.
Not especially likely. MCs aren't drive-by-wire other than EFI and engine shutdown takes out no control systems. Manual steering and brake make for simple stopping when your engine quits.

"3: If used on a car, most cars are drive-by-wire."

No, they are not. Most have power-assisted but mechanically linked steering and brakes. If you are trying to stop someone in a high-speed chase shutting them down is far safer than chasing them until they crash.