I was wondering how feasible and simple it would be to have an Arduino Uno which accept instructions via a gsm shield, that in turn is connected to a motor that tightens something to restrict liquid flow through a rubber tube?
Basically the rubber tube has fluid (in this example petrol) flowing through it freely, but when a certain message is sent via sms to the Arduino, the motor turns something and tightens something around the rubber tube to restrict fluid moving through it or slow down the rate fuel is delivered to say a car engine?
Then when I want to allow the fluid to continue again, another sms message is sent that turns the motor the opposite direction and loosens its grip on the tube to allow the fluid to flow again.
I was thinking of this device as a security device for cars so if a car is stolen police have a database of cars that have this device installed in them and they simply look up the cars registration which will have a phone number they simply text and send a special code related to only that car to cut the engine off.
Is it dangerous restricting the fuel line or blocking it even briefly?
Any information would be greatly appreciated thanks.
if you have a kill switch that lets a criminal start the car and pull out into traffic, then shuts off the car or locks the doors, then you created an unsafe condition and the government will find you guilty of crimes far beyond that of the thief.
I like the idea of reducing the flow so the car will not move fast.
there is no reason you cannot reduce or shut off or starve an engine. it just runs slow or stops.
lo-jack has a homing beacon I think. police can find the car.
having the lights flash and the horn sound would make it very exciting for all involved.
Hazzman:
I was thinking of this device as a security device for cars so if a car is stolen police have a database of cars that have this device installed in them and they simply look up the cars registration which will have a phone number they simply text and send a special code related to only that car to cut the engine off.
If you want to work with modern cars I think you need a device that issues commands to the engine's fuel control system.
It would have to pass all sorts of Government tests - probably different tests in different jurisdictions. The paperwork alone could easily cost $1,000,000.
And think of the cost to the motor industry when a million vehicles need to be recalled to deal with an error in the code.
if you have a kill switch that lets a criminal start the car and pull out into traffic, then shuts off the car or locks the doors, then you created an unsafe condition and the government will find you guilty of crimes far beyond that of the thief.
I like the idea of reducing the flow so the car will not move fast.
there is no reason you cannot reduce or shut off or starve an engine. it just runs slow or stops.
lo-jack has a homing beacon I think. police can find the car.
having the lights flash and the horn sound would make it very exciting for all involved.
Hi Dave I think your absolutely right, I live in Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom and those laws where you are sound the same as here. If you beat up someone who tries to mug you....the person gets the blame not the person who tried ot mug you in the first place, locking a criminal robbing a shop inside a store room....you probably get done for wrongful imprisonment just can't do anything right seems the law most of the time can be in teh criminals favor which is a bit silly to be honest.
I think your right about my idea also being dangerous as I thought about it and if the car suddenly loses power at say 40+ miles per hour, it becomes very unstable to handle and slightest turn of steering wheel can make it fly off the road into a tree, lampost or another vehicle. One thing I have found online about fuel lines is if they become clogged or the fuel pump is pushing a lot of fluid into the pipe but doesn't go anywhere, it can go back into the fuel tank and leak into other areas like the lights socket. If someone breaked and the brake light had a tiny spark, say good night to the whole car and the person inside.
I like the idea of making the lights flash and horn going off that is like a magnet for police as they will know that the car is stolen having the hazard lights and indicators brake lights everything going.
I think as this is a bit dangerous and may need more research I may move onto my more simpler project of a motion sensor array that visually tells you what room the motion is coming from. No software required to link it to a pc as tried before and it was tricky but just when motion is detected in a room it lights an LED which is underneath a piece of plastic with room divisions drawn on it etc.
Robin2:
If you want to work with modern cars I think you need a device that issues commands to the engine's fuel control system.
It would have to pass all sorts of Government tests - probably different tests in different jurisdictions. The paperwork alone could easily cost $1,000,000.
And think of the cost to the motor industry when a million vehicles need to be recalled to deal with an error in the code.
Sorry to sound so negative ...
...R
Hi Robin its ok nothing negative about it :)you just reminded me of stories in the news when you do hear about cars being recalled especially Toyota cars when they had clutch or steering problems in the past and 2 million cars worldwide are recalled which if I had put the wrong code into my device installed in even just those 2 million cars, I think I would be bankrupt trying to recall them to get them fixed so very valid point lol
Yeah the government testing thing too if they found out it was a simple open source platform being used they may want it closed off etc as people may start tinkering with it and messing up settings in cars and things or find a way to hack into it and set off the system to close off the fuel in a lot of cars at once....could be a bit of a headache
dannable:
SMS isn't guaranteed to be instant. It can take days.
That is also true could take a few minutes even to arrive which may be inconvenient when say you want the car to stop as its slowing at a corner before it can get round and accelerate again ....the SMS may not arrive until maybe 30 seconds later where it has already gunned it up to about 70mph again which could cause the problem of handling being very sensitive at that speed when the engine is not running
Hazzman:
Yeah the government testing thing too if they found out it was a simple open source platform being used they may want it closed off etc
That is just paranoia and it was not the point I was trying to make.
In every jurisdiction cars are subject to very rigorous regulation and any new device that is added will have to comply. That means paying suitably qualified institutions to test things and write expensive reports.
I am not saying whether any of that stuff is useful or not useful. It just is.
