Researchers claim a new way to stop car thieves in their tracks

continue to proliferate, but the University of Michigan just proposed a somewhat low-tech method of halting these kinds of thefts.Sleuth” for the time being, and while it’s at least three years out from being a product one could buy, it’s an intriguing proposition nonetheless. The device is connected between the vehicle’s battery and the electrical system, and it works by monitoring voltage fluctuations.

Being able to use those auxiliary systems is important, too, because researchers say that operating those systems in a certain order could also be used as an authenticator to deliver the correct voltage fluctuation fingerprint. A combination of flicking the wipers, activating a turn signal or two, flashing the lights on and off and locking/unlocking the doors could theoretically be your voltage fluctuation “code” to make the car turn on.

Of course, thieves could always try to guess a passcode or sequence of actions, but the consequences are similar to trying to guess someone’s smartphone passcode. Enter in the wrong sequence, or press the wrong fingerprint into the sensor enough times, and the car’s alarm will sound. It’s also designed to completely shut down the car’s electrical system if it detects an unauthorized power source is connected to the vehicle.

The University of Michigan says a field test determined the Battery Sleuth to be 99.9% effective “at detecting and preventing illegitimate activity without interfering with normal vehicle operation.” That study only involved eight vehicles, but more testing is in the works. Researchers claim there’s nothing todue to this solution’s simplicity, but making the impossible-to-hack claim is always a dangerous game.

Three more years of research and testing is on the docket next, and once that’s complete, the team believes it will have a prototype that can be used for commercial production. The greatest potential is that this system could be used as a complete vehicle entry and control system that does away with key fobs and keys, but we’ll just have to wait and see if the Battery Sleuth has a future in new production cars.

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