Infokey distance and i2

[yosgof]

What happens if an i2 goes out of the communication range with the infokey with the rider on?

Nothing? Safety shutdown?

[gbrandwood]

Nothing. The rider simply isn't able to engage any of the InfoKey activated features - the most important, I guess, being alarm mode, power off and power on.

[yosgof]

Pitty. I would have hoped it might work as the more modern car alarms do. If someone grabs you i2 (e.g. on a demo) and just drives off with it, it would shut down once its out of communication with the infokey.

I know a safety shutdown can be triggered from the infokey but that requires a rather quick response from the owner.

Was this ever suggested before? Did anyone talk to INC about this feature?

[hellphish]

I'm sure it was thought of but it would be a pretty dumb thing to make the final product do, don't you think? What do you suppose would happen if the battery on the infokey died, or you dropped it and it broke? Would you like to be stranded just because you went by someone's cordless phone and it caused a communication problem between the key and the platform?

[yosgof]

I'm sure it was thought of but it would be a pretty dumb thing to make the final product do, don't you think? What do you suppose would happen if the battery on the infokey died, or you dropped it and it broke? Would you like to be stranded just because you went by someone's cordless phone and it caused a communication problem between the key and the platform?

Good points and yet...

If an infokey battery dies - applying the same logic, one can't recover from an emergency shut down or just a simple shutdown for parking. So infokey running out of juice is a big showstopper any way. Fortunately Lithium bats such as the one in the infokey don't just die, rather they give ample warning in advance.

Same for dropping and breaking it.

As for cell phones... the Infokey is using a modified Bluetooth datalink which is perfectly safe around cell phones - after all that’s the core technology in Bluetooth cordless cellphone earpieces. So I guess that's not an issue.

In the car alarm business they've thought these points through so, for example, intermittant interference between the car alarm and the key does not cause a shutdown. A sustained loss of communication for several seconds does just that.

I’m suggesting a similar implementation. And of course with the new smarts and customization option of the infokey this behavior can be user selectable.

[hellphish]

I wasn't aware that car alarms did this. I thought they, you know... sounded an alarm.

[bystander]

Good points and yet...

If an infokey battery dies - applying the same logic, one can't recover from an emergency shut down or just a simple shutdown for parking. So infokey running out of juice is a big showstopper any way. Fortunately Lithium bats such as the one in the infokey don't just die, rather they give ample warning in advance.

Same for dropping and breaking it.

As for cell phones... the Infokey is using a modified Bluetooth datalink which is perfectly safe around cell phones - after all that’s the core technology in Bluetooth cordless cellphone earpieces. So I guess that's not an issue.

In the car alarm business they've thought these points through so, for example, intermittent interference between the car alarm and the key does not cause a shutdown. A sustained loss of communication for several seconds does just that.

I’m suggesting a similar implementation. And of course with the new smarts and customization option of the infokey this behavior can be user selectable.What you're thinking of is a "watchdog" or "deadman" circuit. That is, if the base goes out of the "influence" of the key for a long enough time, a shutdown would occur.

If seg-jackings become an everyday occurrence, perhaps this will be a good idea. But until that day occurs, in my opinion, having such a feature will just cause unwanted consternation.

As a user-enabled feature that can be turned on and off, though, it sounds better.

The infokey battery would probably be beefed up a little, as when it is monitoring the speed, distance, etc., it currently doesn't have to talk back much on RF. But if it was broadcasting an authentication code to keep the base alive, it would defiantly run down the battery faster.

Adding the feature to the existing infokey link may be counterproductive.

It might be a better idea to install a passive RFID system. An added interrogator / base unit in the PT would check for the presence of an RFID tag worn on your person. If it weren't found after a few seconds, a slowdown or shutdown could be initiated.

Problem is, with either system, someone with RF jamming equipment can stop your PT. Some might consider that a _less_ secure situation.

P.S. As for the infokey battery dying being a "showstopper", that's why there's a holder for a spare under the console lid, no?

[byped]

Previous gen - you could ride forever with no way to disable.