Intelligent Deterrence
This detailed article on bike theft in the Vancouver area exhibits a Project 529 infographic: There seems to be a bit of a mathematical error in there: If 2 million bikes are stolen annually, and the police recover 100,000, then 5% are recovered, whereas the infographic states that 5% are “returned to owners”. Well, the […]
The M!nder logo has been finalized, and should be published in the next few days. Thanks to the efforts and creativity of the great Ko Kimura at No Shortscuts Studio, here in Vancouver. An outdoor test of one parking-scenario has been carried out, successfully. I’ll post a link to it here, if I don’t forget. […]
The enclosure remains a significant issue which I will have to tackle myself. The firmware has had a major feature added. Yes, at even this late a stage. The hardware has been a pain, but significant progress has been achieved. I’ve not had success at finding a part-time job, but then I’ve not had time […]
The first release of M!nder, the intelligent theft-deterrent for bicycles, is still expected to be in January 2022. A factor that may affect this is the crisis in the supply of electronic (and other) components. This has been unpredictable, affecting both price and availability.
As with any product nowadays, naming is a much more complex undertaking than it was in the past. Checks have to be carried out for the domain name (especially .com), existing products or variants, groups and individuals on social networks, apps, trade-marks, patents, jurisdictions etc etc etc. And, while you’re developing the product, other claimants […]
Just a quick update. I’ve spent a lot of time on trying to find a local metal-shop that could help with the manufacturing of the enclosure. The main body of the latter _I_ will do, but the end discs are more problematic. Unfortunately, and to the best of my knowledge, they are typically made through […]
As outlined in some of the history of the Minder1 theft-deterrent for bicycles, the original hope was to mount the system inside the bicycle frame. Chief among the consequent problems was the difficulty of achieving loudness. The latter is determinative in the current (autumn 2021) size and mounting-point of the system. But it is not […]
With prices for off-the-shelf enclosures having risen, and supplies dwindling, I’ve had to consider making my own. Yet again! I’d started off by naively thinking of local, custom production. And the obligatory 3D-printing. Then, I ended up researching metal fabrication–even welding! The current focus is on sheet metal. All the going-around-in-circles eventually bore fruit: Riveting […]
As already outlined, my only recourse for an affordable enclosure for the product has been an off-the-shelf metal can. Simply, custom manufacturing would result in a cost of hundreds of dollars per enclosure, unless if I order ten(s) thousand of it! The product’s enclosure has to meet some basic requirements. It has to: And whatever […]
I’ve had to learn more about angle grinders than I’d ever wanted to know! I have to run various tests of the system, using an angle grinder. (Saws, bolt cutters etc will also be in the attacks/threats tested.) For now, a basic, brief test is to be carried out, showing a snippet of the system’s […]
