StarChase
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StarChase is the trade name of a system developed early in 2006 to track a fleeing vehicle of interest to police. Its unique components consist of a dart, actually a plastic ball encased in a viscous adhesive which contains a GPS locator and a transmitter, fired by compressed gas from a small mortar on the front bumper of a police car. The system was developed to reduce the need for, and the attendant danger of, high speed pursuits, many of which are precipitated by traffic violations where the motorist is later found to have outstanding business with the court system.
Upon deployment to a target vehicle, the ball begins broadcasting its position to the dispatch center. Catching the vehicle, even without air support, now becomes a matter of strategic interdiction, rather than mere pursuit and interception.
The StarChase system is currently being installed to some units of the Los Angeles Police Department.
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In the future, every vehicle will have LED lighting, GPS, and telematic communication. This will allow each vehicle to transmit codes through its lighting system as to its owner’s identity, number and relative size of passengers (from air bag system), and fuel range. This information available to police only using specialized light sensing equipment, in concert with GPS location and vehicle telematics could all but eliminate police vehicle chases.[citation needed]
The following vehicle tracking system then becomes more sophisticated than projectile launching vehicle identification systems:
