This European Standard focuses on Short Range (SR) Interface/Systems Requirements. SR systems use an interface that allows Detection Equipment to operate some ATSVR functions in the direct line of sight of vehicles.

SR systems enable LEAs in a particular country, to permit LEA personnel to perform actions on vehicles that are within their immediate vicinity. Such actions can include identification of vehicle data or influencing the vehicle from a remote site.

Standards for Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) and Automatic Equipment Identification (AEI) are being developed by CEN/TC 278/WG 12 in parallel with ISO/TC 204/WG 4. This ATSVR specification does not prejudice those standards and does not seek to establish parameters for future AVI/AEI standards. DSRC and AVI Standards are seen as basic technology blocks for types of short range ATSVR.

This part of EN 15213 describes the structure, bit arrangements, number representation and coding of message elements that are typically transmitted as data. There is no requirement to make the messages as short or as effective as possible. Emphasis is placed on making them as clear and unambiguous as possible.

For Short Range Communications, where there is very little time available for the transfer of data between passing vehicles and detection equipment, only a subset of the message elements described in this document can be transmitted. Therefore, in these cases, the data lengths are reduced to an absolute minimum.

Data elements such as times, dates, or geographical coordinates need not be transmitted because the ATSVR consists of various equipment elements that communicate and interact through various interfaces in accordance with standard procedures and protocols facilitating the recovery of stolen vehicles. These processes may involve a human operator.

ATSVR elements include the OBE installed in the vehicles, a range of Detecting Equipment and one or more System Operating Centres. One or more supporting Infrastructure Networks provides communications to support the ATSVR. The ATSVR location function may also include one or more supporting Position Reference Sources.

Some Short Range devices may be triggered by or may use long range communications and vice versa.

Some Interfaces are not within the scope of this EN. These comprise interfaces to or from sensors, actuators and human operators; from position reference sources, e.g. GPS, LEAs internal interfaces, etc.

Detection Equipment "knows" the time; in case of stationary equipment, it "knows" its coordinates, etc. The Detection Equipment may concatenate these data elements to the data coming from the vehicle, when sending a complete data set to ATSVR System Operating Centres or to LEA as described in other parts of this EN.

Wherever possible the same specifications, data structures, contents, and definitions have been used throughout this EN. This EN does not seek to define the requirements or actions of the various human elements of the ATSVR, but it does aim to identify the interactions and interfaces that exist amongst the equipment and human elements operating within the system.