Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
A startup in Minneapolis is offering a service that can locate stolen cars, report the incident to the police, and then send a recovery team to get it back.
TC Nighthawks uses Tile trackers to determine the location of a stolen vehicle.
The tracker is initially installed in the car in a random place where the thief can’t find it. When the vehicle is stolen and the company is notified, it determines its location and reaches out to law enforcement.
The police are provided with the live location of the vehicle, along with additional information to catch the thief. In some cases, the company can even send a drone to the found location to record the surroundings and collect information about the thief, including their face. All the data is submitted to the police.
TC Nighthawks also offers additional services that would help recover the car.
The company has a dedicated team of retired policemen and trained agents that can go to the found location and bring your car back. It’s working with a towing service that will pick up the vehicle, while the trained staff will guarantee everybody’s security.
Everything is powered by a custom application that relies on the information provided by the tracker.
Tile trackers use crowd GPS, a system that relies on Bluetooth to send location data to a master device. The tracker can connect to paired smartphones nearby using a regular Bluetooth connection. When it’s installed in a vehicle, the mobile companion app displays the most recent location on a map. The tracker permanently tries to connect to other phones running the companion app to share updated location information.
Tile uses an approach similar to Apple’s AirTag. The tracker developed by Apple connects to nearby iPhones to send such data to the master device. Tile can connect to any smartphone that has the companion app installed to send location updates.
TC Nighthawks says its representatives also met with Apple to discuss implementing the AirTag into its system. Eventually, they decided to go with Tile, with its custom software offering advanced integration of providing real-time information to law enforcement.
The company promises it takes less than 4 minutes from the moment vehicle owners report the theft to send a police report. As such, law enforcement can locate the stolen car much faster, in many cases not allowing thieves to drive too far.
All these services are offered with a yearly subscription, with more services projected to be included in the offering, including a social media account where all stolen vehicles would be publicly shared. This should help increase the likelihood of finding a car in a timely manner, as netizens can chime in when they spot the vehicle.
The tracker is initially installed in the car in a random place where the thief can’t find it. When the vehicle is stolen and the company is notified, it determines its location and reaches out to law enforcement.
The police are provided with the live location of the vehicle, along with additional information to catch the thief. In some cases, the company can even send a drone to the found location to record the surroundings and collect information about the thief, including their face. All the data is submitted to the police.
TC Nighthawks also offers additional services that would help recover the car.
The company has a dedicated team of retired policemen and trained agents that can go to the found location and bring your car back. It’s working with a towing service that will pick up the vehicle, while the trained staff will guarantee everybody’s security.
Everything is powered by a custom application that relies on the information provided by the tracker.
Tile trackers use crowd GPS, a system that relies on Bluetooth to send location data to a master device. The tracker can connect to paired smartphones nearby using a regular Bluetooth connection. When it’s installed in a vehicle, the mobile companion app displays the most recent location on a map. The tracker permanently tries to connect to other phones running the companion app to share updated location information.
Tile uses an approach similar to Apple’s AirTag. The tracker developed by Apple connects to nearby iPhones to send such data to the master device. Tile can connect to any smartphone that has the companion app installed to send location updates.
TC Nighthawks says its representatives also met with Apple to discuss implementing the AirTag into its system. Eventually, they decided to go with Tile, with its custom software offering advanced integration of providing real-time information to law enforcement.
The company promises it takes less than 4 minutes from the moment vehicle owners report the theft to send a police report. As such, law enforcement can locate the stolen car much faster, in many cases not allowing thieves to drive too far.
All these services are offered with a yearly subscription, with more services projected to be included in the offering, including a social media account where all stolen vehicles would be publicly shared. This should help increase the likelihood of finding a car in a timely manner, as netizens can chime in when they spot the vehicle.
Google News