laptop theft alarm

Students set laptop theft alarm

Four M’lore girls create a laptop protection system in which an alarm goes off if anyone other than the owner tries to lift it 

If four students from Mangalore have their way, all that laptop thieves will get for their pains will be an ear-splitting screech.

The students of St Aloysius Institute of Management and Information Technology (AIMIT) have devised a laptop protection system that sends out a siren when someone tries to steal the machine.

“The idea came from Mohandas, the man incharge of our college’s server room,” says Ashakiran, a first-year MS software and technology student who has a physics background.

The foursome took the cue and went on to develop the system which they claim is a first. Their differing expertise helped — Srijana has studied electronics while Plammy and Maithri have done their BCA.

Ashakiran said, “We’ve made a circuit connection consisting of two ICs. We dipped two wires inside water stored in a container. The water level should be two-thirds the container. As long as there is a connection between the water and the wire, there will be no beeps or sirens. But once the connection is cut, IC-1 gets heated up, triggering IC-2 and the PNP transistor, resulting in a siren.”

The system is made of a matchbox-sized circuit that can be installed inside the laptop. A small switch can be placed anywhere in the laptop, known only to the user. The project has been developed at a cost of Rs 300.

“We always wanted to make a model that was innovative and of use in the market,” said Ashakiran.

However, there are some points that need finetuning. For one, maintaining the water level is crucial. “Since the water can evaporate as the laptop heats up, we need to work on the software and develop a command that will alert the user when the water level comes down,” said Ashakiran.

“We also hope to create a software where the cellphone number is taken as the default value and when the siren goes off, the owner automatically gets a message,” she added.

Also, the small container that stores water has to be sealed and every precaution taken to ensure that water does not seep into the laptop.

“In case laptop manufacturers decide to add this feature, it will certainly be a big hit among customers given the problem of laptop thefts, especially on college campuses,” she said.
 

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