GPS Cannon

[LongBlade]

This is pretty cool. Cops are worried that high speed chases end up getting someone hurt, and 42% of the time it's a 3rd party with nothing to do with the high speed pursuit.

So they're working on a kind of "cannon" to shoot a GPS tracking device at a fleeing vehicle which will allow them to track it without high speed pursuit. Great idea. I hope it works.

That's why the Iowa State Patrol is now experimenting with the latest gadget aimed at reducing the number of pursuits. It's a mini air cannon that mounts on the patrol car's push bar. It fires a GPS device that's designed to stick to the back of the fleeing vehicle. The officer can then lay back at a safe speed and distance and track the suspect by satellite.

Iowa troopers have shot twice so far and are 2 for 2 with a couple arrests. The system and the company that makes it are called StarChase.

"It allows the officer to really use different tactics on what would be a traditional pursuit," says StarChase President Trevor Fischbach, "but just run it differently, lower the adrenaline, lower the risk, and it allows everybody to make better decisions, even the criminal."

[SgtRock]

More SciFi coming true, both James Bond and Ghost in the Shell had guns shooting tracking bullets. There has also been talk/work on adding a back door/secret code to car computers that would allow cars to be disabled remotely. PBS had a show on that showed a car (new standard model with on-star) being hacked through the wireless tire air pressure sensors that enable remote control of the brakes and turning on/off the engine, locking the steering. :o

[MikeGER]

mmh.... can be easily countered by a GPS jammer (the sticky- device cant get a fix anymore.... the emission from the the GPS sats are ultra week) and also jamming the frequency its emitting (probably just using the common cellphone networks) so it cant book-in to the net,  and so not even a triangulation from the network cell-towers is possible...  i think a police chopper, or maybe a small launchable drone plane with a videolink to the police HQ cant be shaken off...

if you want to stick something to the car, a low tech approach would be better.  why not just stick a common colored smoke grenade... it leaves a trail, gives an id for joining in police air and ground assets, and makes the driver uncomfortable when he looks in his mirrors             

[LongBlade]

if you want to stick something to the car, a low tech approach would be better.  why not just stick a common colored smoke grenade... it leaves a trail, gives an id for joining in police air and ground assets, and makes the driver uncomfortable when he looks in his mirrors           

Not a bad idea. Or a big paintball.

[Staggerwing]

Why not some kind of EMP harpoon? Fire it into the car's trunk or fender and after a few seconds it emits a pulse that fries the car's electronics. Admittedly, it wouldn't be helpful if the perp were fleeing in a vintage car but for newer ones it would knock them out due to ignition/fuel system shutdown.

[GDS_Starfury]

mmh.... can be easily countered by a GPS jammer (the sticky- device cant get a fix anymore.... the emission from the the GPS sats are ultra week) and also jamming the frequency its emitting (probably just using the common cellphone networks) so it cant book-in to the net,  and so not even a triangulation from the network cell-towers is possible...  i think a police chopper, or maybe a small launchable drone plane with a videolink to the police HQ cant be shaken off...   

then you have ECCM :)  you can fix the target by triangulating the center of the white noise.