A vehicle anti-theft and alarm system based on computer vision

Car and light van thefts are increasing alarmingly around the world and new guidelines driven by the insurance companies, are being set for vehicle manufacturers to make their products more secure. POLLUX has been developed as a vehicle guard against theft and alarm system, this security system based upon machine vision technology acids a new level of theft protection to vehicle security systems in a manner that does not intrusive the drivers. It is based on hardware system, for real time acquisition of driver´s images using an active IR illuminator. This system can locate and recognize the driver´s face, identify the unauthorized driver. When the unauthorized driver is driving, POLLUX will alarm and send the unauthorized driver´s image to car owner or police through CDMA or GPRS networks. The system was tested in a simulating environment with subjects of different ages, with/without glasses, and under different illumination conditions, and it was found very robust, reliable.