E2V has developed a non-lethal weapon that can disable the engines of motor vehicles and small boats at a distance of up to 50m in under three seconds.
Dubbed RF Safe-Stop, the unit, which weighs approximately 350kg, has so far been integrated into Nissan Nevara and Toyota Land Cruisers and is designed to temporarily disable a vehicle’s electronic systems and bring it to a halt. Such non-lethal systems are said to be particularly suited to stopping vehicles suspected as being used as car bombs.
Andy Wood, product manager at e2v, told The Engineer that RF Safe-Stop can be fitted also into ground, fixed base installations, rib-type boats and that there are ‘blueprint’ ideas to integrate it into a helicopter.
Such non-lethal systems generate intense RF (radio frequency) pulses and Wood euphemistically said these pulses ‘confuse’ a vehicle’s electronics, rendering them temporarily inoperable.
RF Safe-Stop works differently on different vehicles although the principle of coupling electromagnetic waves into the target’s wiring looms remain the same.
‘At the weight of frequencies we’re taking about – L and S-Band – the wiring loom of, say a metre…is almost the perfect aerial,’ said Wood.
The electromagnetic blast travels through the wiring loom as a series of pulses, arriving at the vehicle’s engine management system or immobiliser to halt it.
‘Basically the ECU (engine control unit) or immobiliser…once affected, will try and reset. As long as you keep it ‘confused’ the engine won’t restart.’
The RF generator is driven by a solid state modulator designed and built at Chelmsford-based e2v and Wood explained that a UPS unit has been added to systems designed for use on vehicles.
‘What we’re assuming at the moment is if, for instance, you had a fully charged set of batteries you’d get about two hours of operation, use about a 10 per cent RF energy burst from it …So [with] two hours stand-by, you get 12 minutes of RF operation,’ he said.
‘If you’ve got it on a vehicle, or a boat…you could be trickle charging that all the time. Unless you exceed the 10 per cent duty cycle with something like a 100A (amp) alternator at 24V you should…not run out of power.’
Operators of RF Safe-Stop won’t need specialist training as e2v is aiming for a system that that allows the user to do nothing more complicated than push a red button when the target is in range.
‘So long as he’s got a green light on his display he knows he can push the red button and typically, in one operation, get a five second burst,’ said Wood. ‘Normally, the effect happens in three seconds. You should be pretty certain that with one shot you’re going stop whatever engine it is you’re trying to stop. Then you repeat as and when – if you see the person in the vehicle is trying to restart it you just give it another shot and demobilise the vehicle again.’
The company recently demonstrated RF Safe-Stop at DSEi and Wood said the technology has stimulated interest from 17 nations and five UK government bodies.
Wood believes orders for the system will be taken in the coming weeks, adding that e2v’s dedicated applications team can tailor RF Safe-Stop according to requirements.
I wonder how it will work on my twenty year old Land Rover? The only chips are the ones I have left in the car after a trip to the fish and chip shop!
Hah! – it wouldn’t stop my 1967 Lotus Elan or my 1971 E-Type Jaguar with their points ignition and carburettors!
Can’t wait for the hand held version so I can use it on the lads on their noisy mopeds as they exceed the speed limit round my area.
What about ABS and Traction control? If these systems are interfered with the results would be interesting i.e. brakes being applied on individual wheels.
I wonder how well this would work on helicopters and airplanes? (scary)
Sounds like the EMP from Goldeneye to me
Yup, wouldn’t stop my all-mechanical diesel 1964 Landrover either! Mind you, the Landy creates it’s own smoke-cloud defense-system anyway and hence you wouldn’t know where to point the RF gun in the first place!
RF Safe Stop! on most modern cars when the engine stops you lose steering and brakes. what is safe about that?
LA Law enforcement needs to mount this on their helicopters to stop car-chases cold. I can imagine cartels using them to stop the Coast Guard etc.
I THINK THAT the idea is promising, could it be tuned to set off the explosive device in a vehicle that is suspected of having an explosive device. Then it would have the ability to remotely detonate the explosive where and when you want, preferably in the terrorists front yard. SWEET DESERTS
This is what I need for my motorcycle to solve the tailgater problem. Please hurry-up and develop a lightweight version.
Non lethal my butt. I wonder what it does to a person with a pacemaker in the car being erroneously stopped…
Can I have a handheld one to use on the muppets using their mobiles to call and text whilst driving!
Fried phone……Yes please!
Just think if this got into the hands of criminals re car thieves etc, either by cloning or other means. There would be bedlam on our roads.
What effect does the almighty EM Pulse have on people!?
I can imaging carjackers and suchlike loving this device.
Disable vehicles, rob occupants….
What happens if it’s pointed at a police helicoptor?
Mmm, this reading just gave me a very big idea as how to weaponise it for US military.
Just wait until the fcc gets wind of this. It will never be allowed to operate in the us. L and S bands are crowded with licensed services, not to mention legacy aeronav, gps and satcom. Not practical or legal.
Hmm so guys go and buy an 800W microwave oven take the door off disable the safety cutouts!
bolt a length of waveguide to the front in square horn shape and you are sorted!
Muahahaaaa! 😉
This device seems entirely incompatible with the drive for autonomous, driverless transport. Does it (thankfully) sound the death knell for the ridiculous notion that autonomous equates to safe.
This was invented previously, many years ago, I know the inventor. The Police were very enthusiastic for its use on helicopters, chase vehicles, etc. However, its development was banned because it’s use would result in power steering assistance failure, disabling ABS and nowadays ESP, and probably loss of vacuum in brake diaphragms. This would result in the high-speed vehicle becoming potentially unstable thereby endangering the public who may be injured or killed by said vehicle. The police confirmed it was therefore in breach of Safety Legislation and I understand the prototype had to be destroyed to prevent it getting into hands of an irresponsible person who might use it randomly. Remember, military equipment normally gets into public hands eventually.
The above is unpatentable because it’s been done before and deemed illegal by authorities.
The previous work was not published, or on Internet, because such revelation would give devious engineers ideas if they suffered from road rage…
Re…. “The above is unpatentable because it’s been done before and deemed illegal by authorities. The previous work was not published.”
It is only unpatentable if the methodology was the same.
Even if the methodology was exactly the same, it is still patentable if the previous inventor did not either patent it or publish it.
Yer its not a new idea & its still too bulky & power hungry to be practical might be useful for stopping boats but to kill a modern cars electronics taking out the brakes & steering is likely to do more harm than good
Compared to the alternative of running them off the road, or blowing the tyres out, I suppose its safer.
But I would not be surprised with modem cars where its cruse control becomes active, electronic brakes system fail while while the airbag is triggered!
They say it doesn’t effect pacemakers, which I find it hard to believe, I think that statement was an assumtion.
This system seems to be more advanced: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56veH8-KbEM
Could you have a small, hand held unit that would disrupt cell phones (or their users) so we don’t have to listen to their inane ramblings (always at a high volume).
Wicked! Now I can rob a bank and stop the cops from chasing me…
You do not need a long antenna to pick up these radio waves. Imagine the effect it will have on electronics such as cellphones, gps and all the high tech electronics the modern soldier relies on…
Ill tell you what, It sounds a lot safer than high speed pursuits through busy intersections, disregarding traffic lights and stop signs, endangering pedestrians, damaging property, possible deaths, and other unfortunate circumstances. There simply is no 100% safe way to defeat the bad guys out there. Besides, the technology is still in the experimental/ testing phase. People had the same knee jerk reaction when they were told tires would be filled with air and the wagon wheel is a thing of the past. Its 2014, technology will always advance and safety has been factored into a lot of the engineering processes. Plus, I think after the engine is killed, the car will begin to slow down… eventually coming to complete stop. That is the safest outcome.
I have a device that will stop ANY vehicle irrespective 12volts, 24volts or even battery powered.
Does not work on frequency, does not use spike strips or carpet matting or “T” pack or any other hideous unreliable articles.
This is proven technology and I know it works I just need an investor to have faith in me before it goes Worldwide.
The other traffic related invention can come next, this works on the K.I.S.S principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . but those details can come later.
Outfit school buses with this tech. They can disable the cars that disobey their stop signs while loading/unloading kids.
It could be set automatically to stop the loud boom-boxes driving down the street after curfew by disabling the electronics. A service or tow- truck would have to be called costing the culprit for his mischief.
Don’t they make a descrambling device that the bad guys could buy
What if the driver or anyone sitting inside the vehicle has a pacemaker??Wouldn’t it kill them ?
This would work very well if all new cars had an RFID transponder like an IFF in an aircraft and this ray could then attached only that particular computer control module. It would be like having the decryption PGP code to a message. Can’t wait until they actually start doing this. They could also use this to stop speeder via military grade drone being flown by law enforcement. Sure could use that technology today in our town.
I need one of these for my neighborhood to kill all the cars that shake my house with their car stereos.
Isn’t 350 KG awfully heavy?
We have a dangerous situation with car raves and doing circular donut patterns with tires in this neighborhood. It would greatly benefit us to have some reliable method to shut them down before someone gets hurt badly.
Yes, I have a couple idiots in my neighborhood this would be great for before they injure or kill someone. This article is 7 years old. My question is WHERE CAN I GET ONE?
I don’t see any problem if it were used in the same environment as the pitt maneuver, or spikes when applied. Not at certain speeds or traffic.
I’m fairly sure those waves are technically in the microwave range. They just isolated the range to not be harmful to people and increase the range of the ones they emit. A microwave dose the same thing but permanent probably. This can be easily defeated in dedicated assaults by applying Faraday cage fiber inside car panels and the engine bay.