Using LiDAR technology for building access control applications

Making sure that no unauthorised people enter a building, or specific areas in the building, is key to the overall security of the premises. From large corporate buildings and distribution centres, to museums and hospitality venues, all share the need to prevent unauthorised access while not restricting the movement of people.

Our LiDAR technology can create virtual doors or partition walls which will work together with the access control system to provide the appropriate level of security required while keeping the space open.

Virtual door

Using the vertical detection mode of our short-range REDSCAN series, a virtual door can be created to protect the opening of a room, a lobby or other indoor space. The system can be easily configured so when a person is coming through the virtual door, an alarm is triggered to the security system. Our RLS-2020 LiDAR series features dry contact outputs which can be easily connected to an access control system or directly to an alarm panel. The series is Grade 3 compliant so can be added to a Grade 3 intruder alarm system.

The system can also be set up to communicate with the access control system to determine the validity of the credentials of the person going through the virtual door.

An access card, finger print reader or a keypad, for example, can be installed by the virtual door. The valid authentication will be sent to the REDSCAN sensor through the dry contact input and therefore the detected person will not be considered as an intruder and no alarm will be generated.

Those virtual doors or partitions are particularly useful in open architecture buildings where physical doors would tarnish the aesthetics of building. They can be equally beneficial in a very different environment, in warehouse and distribution centres where they can separate virtually restricted areas, only accessible by authorised staff, without having to physically partition the wall. It is an application for which our RLS-2020S is used on a regular basis.

Additional protection to turnstile and doors

Many corporate buildings manage the access of their employees and visitors through turnstiles. Low turnstiles are relatively easy to jump over and if there isn’t an additional layer of security, this won’t be detected. One solution is to create a virtual wall above the turnstiles, set one detection zone per turnstile and connect the access control to the sensor. If a person has presented a valid card and goes through the virtual wall, no alarm will be generated, but if there is no valid access then an alarm will be raised.

Another application is to create a virtual wall between the access reader and an automatic door to validate the presence of the person before opening the door.

For any further information regarding our LiDARs range and how they can help enhance security and access control, please contact us.