Ex-Apple engineers created two ways to prevent people from stealing their first product
A trio of ex-Apple engineers launched a new company out of stealth mode on Tuesday - it's called Pearl, and it makes cool tech for your car.
The company's first product is called "RearVision." It's a weatherproof backup camera and alert system that you install as a typical license plate frame, like so:
One of the many questions readers had was, "if this is so easy to install, what's preventing other people from simply unscrewing this license plate frame and stealing this $500 system?"
Well, Pearl thought people might have this issue. Here's what a company spokesperson told us about theft:
"To help prevent theft, RearVision comes with a special security screw tool used to secure the Camera Frame over the license place. Also, each Camera Frame is paired with the Car Adapter - they cannot work independently from each other."
The adapter referenced above plugs into your car's on-board diagnostics (OBD) port and connects the cameras on your license plate to the Pearl app on your phone. It's solely responsible for analyzing the video streams from both cameras to detect obstacles in your path, as well as providing audio and visual alerts to your phone.
In other words, the license plate frame doesn't work without the adapter, and vice-versa. Also, it's difficult to steal either component since the license plate frame is installed with special screws and the adapter is inside your (hopefully) locked car.
Pearl's RearVision costs $499 and ships in September. You can pre-order one here.