RespectRFID can help recover lost and stolen property

RespectRFID can help recover lost or stolen property

Appears to be the next market for RespectRFID after retail - see market analysis pdf file- Small, low-cost RespectRFID tags can be applied by anyone to valuable items.
When an item is stolen some tag information will need to be reported to a database.
The database frequently updates remote receivers.
The receivers will be carried in various vehicles, such as police cars.
The tags will be automatically detected about 500 feet from a receiver.

Property from:

Database - secure and private

Report to database the tag number, date and owner; optionally - name, cost, etc.
Might want to keep the data associating RFID tag # to actual items offshore. Keeping the data offshore would minimize the possibility that the information could be requested by U.S. courts. Would want to only release the information when the customer securely indicated that the items have been stolen
Databases in receivers would be synchronized frequently (nightly?).

Receivers/readers using a distributed database

Stolen property recovery

Police/security personnel use a hand-held device in addition to the receiver, similar to a radar gun, to locate and then recover the stolen item(s)
Call backup units if receivers show that there is a large amount of stolen property

Lost property recovery

Receivers to detect lost property should not be as expensive as those detecting stolen property, as they will not need as long a range of operation. Such low-cost receivers would be purchased by owners or lost property recovery services. It will probably not be necessary to report lost property to the database.

Features essential for recovery

Tag will be small enough to be hidden on most property (not small items like jewelry)
Battery will last for decades with intermittent operation.
Criminals with an illegal RespectRFID reader will be able to discover the presence of tags but not what the tags were attached to.

Recovery service not anticipated before 2010

Item recovery is currently a market to be developed after retail. Then, there must be enough tagged items to encourage receivers to be installed and operated in vehicles. This recovery service is not anticipated to be available until at least 2010. As there will probably be rewards given for property discovery, the receivers may be operated by more than police vehicles. Similar to Lojack (which is used to recover stolen automobiles in a few U.S. cities) Stolen item must be reported
Police have receivers to locate items which have been reported

Much better than Lojack

RepectRFID provides protection for a few dollars
Lojack >$200
Can "activate" the RespectRFID tag anywhere
Lojack needs to be within cellphone coverage area to activate the alarm
Difficult for criminals to detect the presence of RespectRFID tag
Criminals can easily use a tool to "hear" the Lojack ultrasonic signal
Difficult to detect and thus disable the RespectRFID tag
Easy to disable Lojack: remove auto battery, break antennas, break Lojack, etc.
RespectRFID tags can be applied to most items
Lojack is only designed to protect a vehicle
RespectRFID tags can provide loss protection as well
Lojack is only designed to recover stolen vehicles.

Anti-theft Features

Open issues:

RespectRFID tags are unable to communicate thru metal; tagged stolen property can be hidden by metal, e.g. the trunk of a car
Possibility currently exists for people to spoof the recovery system by falsely reporting an an item stolen - by saying, for example, that a tag which they purchased was attached to an expensive item when in reality it was attached to a low-cost item. One possible solution - a 3rd party applies or verifies what each tag is attached to.