Last update:

23 jan 2005

Graffiti Space Trap Tested

Fri February 14, 2003 10:29 AM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Psssst, wanna catch a tagger?

Satellites and super-sensitive sensors are now tuned to the sibilant hiss of spray cans in a space-age effort to eradicate one of the oldest and most persistent urban problems -- graffiti.

TaggerTrap, a graffiti eradication system being tested in several California cities, uses global positioning system technology, cell phones and sensors that recognize the ultrasonic pitch of spray cans to alert police when vandals begin their work, representatives said.

"The tagger, when he pushes down on that spray can, he's calling police," said George Lerg, co-founder of TrapTec, the Escondido, California-based company that developed TaggerTrap.

The unique, ultrasonic tone emitted by aerosol paint cans trips the sensors, which signal a transmitter linked to a police cell phone or radio. The global positioning system pinpoints the location of the transmitter, Lerg said.