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What the article doesn't state is what advantage the Barnacle offers over a more traditional boot design. OK, there's the online payment thing, but that could be equally implemented with a boot. So why the convoluted design? Is it because you can drive around a bit (dangerously) while the barnacle is on?

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A couple of things, it’s quicker and requires less knowledge to apply, less damage to vehicles, and you don’t need a parking officer to come out to remove it; they just dial it in and it pops off, and the barnacled person drops it in a drop box. This removes the need for 24/7 parking officer shifts to need to come out and remove the device.

This thing is also probably sold to organizations that don’t want to deal with the logistics of supporting boots, but are still interested in holding cars for ransom. So a traditional boot design may have always been a nonstarter for them, but this device isn’t.

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