RimTech can protect your car's wheels from theft

A company called Project Overlord Inc. has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise capital for bringing its RimTech anti-theft system for automotive tyres and wheels. This device utilises a concealed transponder and a mobile application to provide real-time location coordinates of the wheels and the vehicle.

In its Kickstarter campaign, the company formed by a group of former Nokia developers said that their goal is to raise $50,000 by September 17 to invest towards the cost of manufacturing the first 5,000 units and related operation functions. The company is aiming to offer the product to customers by October this year.

Terrence Gaskin, founder and CEO of Project Overlord, developed the security system for vehicles after working on opening an aftermarket auto parts store in Texas. Protegan and FossilShale also helped in designing the system.

While most of the currently available wheel anti-theft devices are installed externally, RimTech’s transponder is installed inside the tyre, this makes it virtually impossible for would-be-thieves to disarm, destroy or even locate the device, according to the company.

The system uses proximity and motion sensors to detect theft before it occurs. When someone tampers with tyres equipped with this device, the user is notified on his or her smartphone while an alarm is activated in the wheel in an attempt to deter the theft. If the thief continues to tamper even after the alarm is activated, then the police is called and the user receives a second movement notification. The GPS-equipped RimTech device then allows the user to track the location of the wheel in real-time to help in recovery.

On Kickstarter, the company is offering RimTech for pre-order pledges of $249 to cover one wheel on a vehicle. Its retail price is listed at $329.