An
Australian microdot identification system will feature on BMW cars sold Down
Under from September, according to a report from Australian Associated Press
(AAP).
BMW Australia will use the Datadot system developed by Sydney company Microdata
Technology Ltd which has been hailed as the world’s most sophisticated response
to the trade in stolen cars, AAP said.
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Cars are sprayed with over 10,000 microdots which contain the vehicle’s identification
number and glow brightly under a special light.
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AAP says the system’s makers hope it will deter professional car thieves who
‘ring’ stolen vehicles with new identity numbers or break them up to sell the
parts on the black market.
The tiny dots, not visible to the naked eye, will be applied in a random fashion
and once dry will be almost impossible to remove, AAP said.
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By GlobalData“The introduction of this system represents the most sophisticated response
to combat professional theft anywhere in the world,” AAP quoted Australia’s
National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council executive director Ray Carroll
as saying.
“Datadots will also give police the physical evidence they need to prosecute
professional thieves [who] try to beat the system.”
Datadots would be applied to all parts of the vehicle including the underbody,
exhaust, suspension components, engine, dashboard, door trims and seats, AAP
said. The police would need to find only one dot to successfully identify a
stolen and ‘re-identified’ vehicle.
AAP said the microdot system had also sparked international interest, particularly
in the United Kingdom where Scotland Yard’s car theft expert Ken German has
called for its introduction as soon as possible.
If applied as an after-market product, Datadots would cost about $A380 ($US192)
in Australia, although the cost to car distributors using it on new vehicles
would be substantially less, depending on how many units were treated, AAP said.
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