LoJack is a stolen-vehicle recovery and IoT-connected car system that utilizes GPS and cellular technology to locate users' vehicles, view trip-history, see battery levels, track speeding, and maintain vehicle-health via a native app. Prior to selling a vehicle, LoJack dealers can use the system to manage and locate inventory, view and manage battery-health, and recover stolen inventory. Previous generations of the system utilized radio-tracking signals. The system used a hidden, mounted transceiver and a tracking computer installed in police cars and aircraft.

History

The original LoJack system was created and patented in 1979 by William Reagan, a former Medfield, Massachusetts police commissioner; who went on to establish LoJack Corporation in Medfield. Reagan served as the company's first CEO and Chairman. The name "LoJack" was coined to be the "antithesis of

hijack Hijack, Highjack, or High Jack may refer to: Film and television * ''Hijack'' (1973 film), an American television action film * ''Hijack!'' (1975 film), a British children's drama film * ''Hijack'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi-language action f ...

", wherein "hijack" refers to the theft of a vehicle through force.

Legacy radio-based system

The original LoJack was a radio-based, hardware system designed to prevent theft of a vehicle and aid in the vehicle’s recovery by transmitting vehicle-location data to the LoJack receiver. It was installed in the vehicle and connected to the starting mechanism such that only the original key would start the vehicle. It could also include the incorporation of a scheme whereby an additional step was required to activate the ignition. Prior to starting, it would require the activation of any number of the usual vehicle features such as the radio, headlight switch, or other switched device. The core of the legacy LoJack system is a small, silent

radio transceiver In radio communication, a transceiver is an electronic device which is a combination of a radio ''trans''mitter and a re''ceiver'', hence the name. It can both transmit and receive radio waves using an antenna, for communication purposes. The ...

that is discreetly installed in a vehicle. Once installed, the unit and the vehicle's

VIN Vin or VIN may refer to: Abbreviations and codes Arts, entertainment, and media * '' Vos Iz Neias?'', American Jewish online news site * Coastal radio station VIN Geraldton (callsign), a station in the former Australian coastal radio service Pl ...

are registered in a

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

that interfaces with the

National Crime Information Center The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) is the United States' central database for tracking crime-related information. The NCIC has been an information sharing tool since 1967. It is maintained by the Criminal Justice Information Services ...

(NCIC) system used by federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies throughout the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In the event of a theft, a customer reports the incident to the police; who make a routine entry into the state-police crime computer, including the stolen vehicle's VIN. This theft report is automatically processed by LoJack network-computers, triggering a remote command to the specific LoJack unit in the stolen vehicle. LoJackTrackingComputer

The command activates the LoJack unit to start sending out signals to LoJack police tracking-computers onboard some police cars. Every police car so equipped within a 3-5 mile radius of the signal source will be alerted. The tracking units will display an

alphanumeric Alphanumericals or alphanumeric characters are any collection of number characters and letters in a certain language. Sometimes such characters may be mistaken one for the other. Merriam-Webster suggests that the term "alphanumeric" may often ...

reply-code and an indication of the approximate direction and distance to the stolen vehicle. Based on the reply-code, the police can obtain a physical description of the vehicle, including make (

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

), model, color, VIN, and

license plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British, Indian and Australian English), license plate (American English) or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for ...

number. Police aircraft can also be equipped with tracking computers; airborne units can receive the ( line-of-sight) signals from farther away than ground-based units. The signal is received in equipped police vehicles, utilizing a phased-array antenna system, hence the four distinctive antennae on the roof. This provides the directional location-tracking capabilities of the system. In addition to automobile-theft recovery, LoJack systems are used to recover stolen construction-equipment and motorcycles. By 2013, the LoJack system was reportedly operating in 28 states and the District of Columbia and in more than 30 countries. The company reported that more than 1,800 U.S. law-enforcement agencies had LoJack tracking-computers in their police vehicles. In November 2013, the company announced they were expanding tracking capabilities to parents, auto-makers, and insurance companies. In March 2016, the company was acquired for $134 million by

CalAmp CalAmp Corporation is an Irvine, California-based provider of Internet of things (IoT) software applications, cloud services, data intelligence and telematics products and services. The company's technology includes edge computing devices and Sa ...

, an

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...

-based provider of

Internet of things Internet of things (IoT) describes devices with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communication networks. The IoT encompasse ...

(IoT) software applications, cloud services, data intelligence, and telematics products and services. In 2024, CalAmp filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

, allowing for a secured deal with its lenders to swap its $229 million in bonds for equity. The company stated that its financial state has been bleak for many years, blaming its acquisition of LoJack and an ill-fated program that stretches customer's payment-terms.

Frequency

LoJack transmits on a

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

( RF)

carrier frequency In telecommunications, a carrier wave, carrier signal, or just carrier, is a periodic waveform (usually sinusoidal) that conveys information through a process called ''modulation''. One or more of the wave's properties, such as amplitude or fre ...

of 173.075

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

. Vehicles with the system installed send a 200

millisecond A millisecond (from '' milli-'' and second; symbol: ms) is a unit of time in the International System of Units equal to one thousandth (0.001 or 10−3 or 1/1000) of a second or 1000 microseconds. A millisecond is to one second, as one second i ...

(ms) chirp every fifteen seconds on this frequency. When being tracked after having been reported as stolen, the devices send out a 200 ms signal once per second. The radio frequency transmitted by LoJack is near the VHF spectrum used in North America by digital television channel 7, although there is said to be minimal interference due to the low power of radiation, brief chirp-duration, and long interval between chirps.

Modern system

Modern transponder key based systems made the original LoJack starting system obsolete. The system marketed under the LoJack brand since 2021 is a cell phone/GPS based stolen vehicle tracking and recovery system. In March 2021, the vehicle intelligence company Spireon announced it had acquired the LoJack U.S. Stolen Vehicle Recovery business from CalAmp, joining LoJack users with "nearly 4 million active subscribers from over 20,000 current Spireon customers".

would still retain and continue to expand LoJack International, which operates as a subscription-based

SaaS Software as a service (SaaS ) is a cloud computing service model where the provider offers use of application software to a client and manages all needed physical and software resources. SaaS is usually accessed via a web application. Unlike oth ...

business, while also retaining ownership of the LoJack patents and trademarks. In 2023, a group of security researchers announced discovery of multiple software bugs affecting vehicles from nearly all major car brands, potentially enabling hackers to take full control of the affected cars. The most serious vulnerabilities were found in Spireon's fleet management software, which spans 15 million connected vehicles, and could have allowed remote control over a wide range of fleet vehicles, including those used by law enforcement. All identified bugs have since been fixed.

History

Legacy radio-based system

Frequency

Modern system

See also

References

Further reading