E-plates: RFID number plate for cars

Malaysian-registered cars will receive the equivalent of the MyKad system early next year – number plates called e-plates which will contain RFID tags which will contain information about the vehicle and it’s owner. The e-plate system was conceived as a strategy to curb car theft. It will supposedly prevent car thieves from getting away by merely changing stolen car’s plates. The system will be implemented in stages, starting with new cars, followed by those already running on the road. Range is 100 meters. The e-plates have a battery lifespan of 10 years.

How much will this new system cost us? Who will be bearing the cost of the new tagged numberplates, and will the prices be overinflated due to someone making a fat profit in the middle of the supply chain?

The plates are supposed to be tamper-proof, but then again with technology, there are many ways to get around security. There is always a way – think RFID “burner” devices to create a massive amount of electronically “plate-less” cars to confuse the police in the area, making it easier for you to get the car out of the theft zone, etc.

Source

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • SatriaGuy (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 2:00 pm

    Are we becoming a nervous, authoritarian state? Why do the authorities want to check on us like a hawk all the time? Plates that tell on you? What's next? Retina-scanning cameras checking people's identities in the streets?

    Cost is one thing but from history, Malaysians are inventive and will find a method that can trick the system. Even when they get caught, people are accustomed to getting away by some 'extra-legal' means.

    This obsession with being a super smart 'high-tech' society are getting too far

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  • tariq (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 3:43 pm

    imho,the police should open their eyes and do a better job to ensure public safety and security.gadgets like this one is good but what the point if the police is not doing their jobs?!In Klang Valley,crooks can just rompak,curi kereta,samun and thisandthat….and cops only handle the police reports and yada2 and not trying to do a good work in curbing the crime.

    this is another cost for the people, which the officials want.why can't they train cops to be better in what they do(and equip with some sensor gadget).

    for the people's sake la,for once!

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  • viceice (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 4:01 pm

    meh. all you have to do is put it in your microwave for 10 seconds.

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  • kimmy (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 4:22 pm

    I heard in UK they use self destructing number plates. The number plates cannot be removed without shattering into bits of pieces. Plus you would have to bring your registration card everytime you would want to make a new number plate. I don't think there are any microchips in the number plates.

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  • TheophilusChin (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 5:01 pm

    I remember when some people had their driving license information incorporated into their my.card, policemen who did road blocks insisted those drives were driving without proper license, simply because "we don't have the machine to read my.card"

    So imagine this, they block you, declare you are not the owner of the car you driving cause "we don't have the machine to read e.plates"

    Lastly, one company who is issued the license to import such technology, and eventually proving all the places in Malaysia road with such plates, will be millionaire. Imagine earning just RM1 from ONE plate…

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  • domoteka (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 5:28 pm

    another scam to cheat,swindle and rob we bolehlah people……

    wake up and smell the bunga taik ayam! This deal stinks!

    are we just going to just bend over and take it deeply rear ended without even whimpering????

    Do what you ought to have done many many times ago!!

    change the government by exercising your voting rights!!!

    say no to dacing because the dacing is infested with cacings…..

    even america can change her government why not bolehland which is so rich to send some bodohnaut to tarik tea in space, build a 400M istana (white house has been used by america 2 centuries already), raise petrol prices even though world prices drop, raise toll prices eventhough the concessions earn like crazy everyday, raise cooking oil prices eventhough we produce oil palm…….damn now even number plates?I remember some time back JPJ wanted to start some scheme like this,with some high tech plate, but that fell through….now the idea rises again????

    huh, roket, mata and bulan for me next election

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  • ec (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 5:41 pm

    Finally our government relaunch about this RFID.

    I was heard about this plate when I first owned my first Iswara yrs back to 1996, when Proton introduced "stell-embosed" number plate.

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  • Gus-Gus (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 6:08 pm

    Why the hell put it on a number plate which can be broken at anytime?? Anyone got a number plate on their car which they haven't had to replace for 10 years – the life of the battery for the chip?

    There are already anti-theft systems like Tracker which are more efficient – stopping the car dead!

    But, there is no law to compel everyone to install/ use Tracker but everyone has to have licence plates on their car. Good way for a good friend to make a buck (and more) supplying these compulsory RFID plates!!

    And yet again the consumer is the sucker.

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  • mycar_stolen (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 7:06 pm

    our minister at the MOT really good la ….

    1 million free helmets….

    new no plates

    just wonder who are supplying those things?

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  • edwardonian (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 7:27 pm

    That's the results of corruption in government sector and now we, the grassroots, are paying for the price of it. Well folks, keep on voting for this corrupt govt; who knows, there will be more new "inventions" to cope with this and that in near future.

    P.S. i'm still in dilemma on how to get rid of the stain of old road tax sticker on my windscreen…

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  • aesthari (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 7:52 pm

    This RFID, not a bad idea to check car-theft, but not very efficient or feasible either. Somebody's gonna get darn rich if the RFID is implemented, while car owners will most probably be poorer after that. Instead of coming up with these costly stuff, why can't the police do more patrols and stuff? But no, they are very very busy hiding in corners, behind trees, blocking motorists for the slightest offences, squeezing money of of their (and ours) already thin wallets while more serious crime goes unchecked somewhere really near. Back to the point, to curb car theft, I do think that drivers are responsible for their own vehicles too; make sure the locks and alarms are working, don't leave valuables in the car (or if you have to, keep them out of view), check that the doors are properly locked and stuff before leaving the vehicle. Won't really do much to deter the craftier or more determined theives, but it does make a difference. There's only so much technology can do for us if we are careless.

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  • motberg (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 7:54 pm

    i wonder who conceived such a hare brained idea… if the ministry is serious abt curbing theft, the microchip should be embedded some where in the car, not the licence plate… duh! imagine if a car thief steals a car and fixes the plate to another car, the police will only be able to track where the licence plate is while the original car is sent to timbuktoo… a better system would be to embed the chip in the car with the plate acting as a circuit breaker. once you remove the plate, the chip will be triggered to send a distress signal so that the authorities will be able to trace the stolen car, and not the stolen plate. It's not rocket science, just need a little common sense. but then again, in bolehland we always get the most 'creative' solutions that will be implemented for 6 months and die off with time. just think of the demerit system, the toll free line to complain about dangerous driving, motorbikes having to switch on the headlight, red light cameras, the list jsut goes on on… i suspect the real reason for all this is actually to increase 'pocket size'.

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  • demio121 (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 8:05 pm

    this will be another waste of our money. making us pay extra to something that is too hi-tech for the enforcer.

    like the KLIA limo with the satelitte tracking thingy. A total waste of money and in the end, no result but where did the money goes?

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  • transformer (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 8:39 pm

    YEAH!!! agree with you guys…

    Our police force should buck-up!!!

    Police responsibility not just setting up speed traps!

    Citizen of M'sia need to be protected!

    Catching Mat Rempit instead of Snatch Thieves!

    Catching illegal worker instead of Robbers!

    Heard from TV news that our police force are expanding and would received 1000-2000 units of patrol cars, brand new Proton that it. They hope this would improve their response time from 12min to 4min.

    No one need RFID if citizen of M'sia are protected!

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  • antaras (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 9:56 pm

    It's a matter of time before they introduce 'heat seeking, laser guided and ultraviolet scanning homing device' onto our no. plate. Damn… why can't they just ask the authorities to do a better job?

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  • Isamu (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 10:10 pm

    Yeah.. Heard about the UK number plate as well.. I would say having a self destructing number plate would be a better (although not perfect) deterrent than RFID chips..

    How about integrating the number into bumper? Some way to carve the number into the bumper and any "add-on" plates would be easily identified..?? Thieves won't be able to carry so many bumpers around, would they..??

    But then again, if the government shores up the economy, everybody would have their nice meals.. Petty theft would be little and all these technologies would not be needed in the first place..

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  • proton12vauto (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 10:28 pm

    G needs more money from us…that's all

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  • armandd (Member) on Dec 11, 2006 at 11:21 pm

    "think EMP shockwaves to create a massive amount of electronically “plate-less” cars to confuse the police in the area, making it easier for you to get the car out of the theft zone, etc."

    >>> the EMP will also wipe out all the cars' ECU in the process, heheh.. :p

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  • mtay (Member) on Dec 12, 2006 at 1:19 am

    1. What's to stop the car thief from throwing the e-plate away?

    2. Wouldn't broadcasting the owner's identity like that be kind of dangerous? (and don't tell me it'll be safe because only the authorities will have the readers… that's just naïve.)

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  • DAN (Member) on Dec 12, 2006 at 2:25 am

    what happen if (harap pagar, pagar makan padi! ), if our own national security dont do will there job in proper n miss used there power!.

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  • mystvearn (Member) on Dec 12, 2006 at 3:38 am

    I don't think this idea will take off. G had idea to put black boxes in busses, and it was useless. So doing the same to cars will only increase the price. Better invest in GPS technology getting all maps so that its easier to track the car that way.

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  • J (Member) on Dec 12, 2006 at 4:34 am

    Such advanced system … Easily costing RM300 per car ? :)

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  • Joe Ooi (Member) on Dec 12, 2006 at 4:55 am

    Isamu said,

    How about integrating the number into bumper? Some way to carve the number into the bumper and any “add-on” plates would be easily identified..?? Thieves won’t be able to carry so many bumpers around, would they..??

    —————

    Wah like that ah, if carve the no. into Iswara bumper, there is possibility that it will break as the plastic bumper is very "fragile/brittle"!

    Anyway this thingy is just another "runner" try to lobby in relevant G department (i.e. JPJ) to have "exclusive supply and install" this gadget. Another "potential filthy rich" in the making! Pity our poor patriotic consumers ………

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  • Isamu (Member) on Dec 12, 2006 at 8:28 am

    Joe,

    It can a light carve which doesn't get too deep in. Getting 1~2mm off one small area of the bumpers won't reduce the mechanical properties that much..

    armandd,

    The housings of all the different control units are designed to block out a certain kinds and levels of waves.. But on another hand, I don't think that car thieves are sophisticated enough to have those gadgets.. If crooks do have the gadgets, I bet they would be threatening the national security rather than our cars..

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  • Mayonaise (Member) on Dec 12, 2006 at 8:30 am

    I can see this crony-proposed crap fail within 5 years.

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  • normal_user (Member) on Dec 12, 2006 at 4:28 pm

    OMG. Even the road tax sticker they cant replace with quality ones, some more want to introduce this e-plate!

    My road tax sticker already koyak rabak getting heated under the sun. Too bad…..

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  • avanza (Member) on Dec 12, 2006 at 7:31 pm

    Yeah, like who's going to check every car that passes by with RFID scanners to look out for stolen cars!

    Is it really going to stop that thief from jacking my car? Car thieves steals cars and hide them within the hour. How's RFID going to stop that?

    If car owners end up paying for this, then it's another perfect example of rakyat paying for the ineffeciencies of the law enforcement agencies!

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  • haroldz (Member) on Dec 12, 2006 at 8:03 pm

    Another scam to let UMNOputra gain some profit from d rakyat.

    There will be only 1 company who can issue this car plates.

    Then the company will monopolize (s usual in mlaysia).

    The police traffic are not doin anythg plan/ programme to curb car theft.

    Dat y they lobby the governmt to intro this car plates..

    dat is sooo malaysian politic…………!!

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  • sooaun (Member) on Dec 14, 2006 at 6:54 pm

    if they're going to implement this maybe there should be more positive uses for it… like getting rid of toll booths and having the high speed detector sense and deduct toll charges accordingly, this way they will be no more need for lining up to pay toll and slowing down, or jams at toll booths…

    as for road tax stains, just use lighter fluid, thinner or kerosene..

    cheers!

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  • topgunthang (Member) on Dec 14, 2006 at 11:14 pm

    e this e that. wats the use

    just another proton-like concept. create some compulsory rubbish and force people to buy it.

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  • Jay (Member) on Jan 11, 2007 at 10:25 pm

    Another hopeless idea ! Tax payers money to drain again ! Can these people come out with something else ? Come on guys we need to have broad mind like the people in HK, Singapore, Usa, Europe, India, Japan ………do these people have such technology there ! I'm not surprise if the can come out with e-human ! something worth investing !

    OOOhhhmmyyyy …. i've just given up hope with all this new dum ideas ! Just only we had a hike in toll rates now this…what else ? only God knows !

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