KAJANG: University Tenaga Nasional (Uniten) has collaborated with a private company to develop a vehicle theft prevention system using QR codes.
This new jointly-developed system, called ScanKod, will be used by the police by end of the year in a pilot project before it is opened up to other enforcement agencies.
Yesterday, Uniten signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Globe Resources Sdn Bhd to develop the mobile vehicle theft prevention system, to reduce the number of vehicle thefts nationwide.
Police statistics showed there are about 13,000 cars reported stolen yearly and almost RM1 billion is losses by insurance companies in terms of theft claims.
These vehicles are often stolen and fitted with registration plates belonging to another vehicle of similar model, making them look identical and "legitimate".
Speaking to the New Straits Times at the MoU signing yesterday, Globe Resources chief executive officer S. Maran said now with the invention of ScanKod, authorities would be able to quickly check the authenticity of a car with just one tap on their mobile phones.
The easy-to-use system requires the user to install the application in their mobile phones and it will directly connect to the server holding the nationwide vehicle data.
"This database containing all the vehicle details such as the make, registration, model, colour, owners' information right up to the car chassis number will be reflected through ScanKod, once it's ready by end of this year.
"The main objective of ScanKod is to curb or make it difficult for robbers to steal using the conventional method ie replacing the registration plate," he said.
He added that vehicle registration plates can be easily replaced with fake number plates but ScanKod patterns cannot be duplicated or replicated.
"No one is the same as any another," he said, adding that the unique patterns contain several layers of security such as proprietary encryption and algorithms.
Currently, said Maran, the application was designed only for the use of Malaysian police, who have officially agreed to apply and test ScanKod here.
He said with just a simple QR code displayed on the vehicle windscreen and Scankod application, enforcement officers can easily scan to obtain all the vehicle's information.
"If the vehicle has been stolen, the information that appears on the ScanKod system will help police raise the red flag. It will also lower the chances of a vehicle being stolen as thieves would be afraid they may get caught, if any policeman on his rounds was to run a scan of the vehicle's QR code.
"The company took about four years to develop the system and is pleased to work with Uniten and the police in its pilot project," he said when met at Uniten.
The MoU was inked between Maran and Uniten deputy vice chancellor (research and innovation) Professor Datuk Dr Mohd Zamri Yusoff, witnessed by federal police Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department deputy director (strategic planning) Datuk K. Kumaran.
Meanwhile, Zamri lauded Globe Resources for the joint venture and said he hoped for it to be useful to enforcement agencies, namely the police and Road Transport Department.
"Uniten has patented almost 500 new industrial inventions and many have been commercialised and even used by certain ministries.
"We hope more companies will emulate Globe Resources to collaborate with us on new innovations for the nation," he said.