Anti Theft System

Submitted 6 years ago

Requirement:
Cell phone theft is a major problem nowadays, just considers the moped cell robberies in London. The current anti-theft measures in iPhones and androids are literally useless. The thieves just switch the phone off, probably change sim and maybe later wipe the cell clean (root the cell or something). So no basic way of tracking the phone. The insurance cost of most phones is very high as they are literally never recovered if stolen. Being an engineer I pondered how companies like yours could make secure phones.
My ideas :
A phone that doesn't truly switch off (or go in flight mode) unless user enters a code, instead it goes in a sort of fake screen off mode. Yes there are apps out there which do this somewhat, but most need rooting to start off with and have no way around sim removed scenario. The phone should then use the emergency/SOS protocol (which allows cells even without a sim to make calls to emergency services) to send a location detail every few seconds or minutes. The users could have access to an app/website that allows them to track the phone or put it into a stolen mode. This could aggravate the phones defences (using cameras to send surrounding photos, if sim is not removed) and increase frequency of tracking info. It is very difficult to not get any cell phone signal outdoors in London and most other places nowadays.
If using the emergency protocol was issue, you could use a system that doesn't allow anyone to remove the sim without a code. A very tiny electronic lock system could do the job. The battery of course would be irremovable for both the options (not usually in favour of this , but if it secures my cell why not). The fake switch off mode would still be same. The cell now can rely on its own network to send signals to the website. The sim lock system can use various mechanical designs for example a tiny solenoid system to lock entry to sim slot. Could the thieves force their way through this ? Yes but it could be designed such that it is not possible without causing damage unless it's in the hands of a professional. Even that should be a tedious process taking a minimum of 30 mins.
The phone will still be vulnerable to rooting etc, but doubt the thieves will be that quick at doing this while trying to escape.