Omgate is an Israeli product brought into Australia by iTech that’s designed to deliver users powerful gate automation in a very compact and affordable package, that’s managed using a smart device app.
AVAILABLE from Mainline and Presco, Omgate was one of Security 2015’s most interesting products and it reflects the lateral capabilities of the digital future. It’s an app-based gate controller that combines compact size with very useful functionality, as well as neat management.
One of the key aspects of any automation system is opening gates as a user approaches and Omgate gives you this capability in a wireless controller the size of a matchbox which is installed at the gate and connected to a gate controller. Managing the solution is the Omgate app, which turns a smart device into a door remote based on proximity to a gate it is authorised to open. Omgate’s free iOS/Android app also allows management of authorised users of a gate in a very clever way.
According to Yossi Harel of iTech, system installation is fast, simple and pain-free. An authorized technician installs the OmGate device adjacent to a gate controller without any need for complex infrastructure. The Omgate unit is wired into it the door controller with 2 wires.
“Once this is done, all you have to do is download the app,” says Harel. “Once it’s on your smart phone, as you approach the secured property, the app wakes up and pops up on your device. Gates can open automatically from as far away as 300m based on GPS positioning and user ID. One tap on the alert and the gate opens. The app works if you’re on a call and even using the phone’s navigation apps won’t interfere with its operation.”
Harel says adding and managing authorized users, allowing them to easily and conveniently open the gate via the app, is simple, too.
“To set users up you add the name, telephone number and the user gets an SMS inviting them to download the app to their own phone and they are sent a secure code,” he explains. “You can be designated as the gatekeeper, giving you management authority, or an ordinary user – and you can have multiple users for any gate.”
Cool, too, there are time-based rules so that tradespeople can be allowed access to a site for the duration of a contract.
“As gatekeeper I might decide you can use the system for one day and then the system will delete the user automatically. You can also add guests, giving them very convenient access for the duration of a stay using a device they always carry with them. It’s ideal for a number of gated access control applications.”
With Omgate it’s possible to manage up to 20 different gates from a single phone and the system is compatible with garage doors, security gates, and barrier gates based on an electrical connection from controller to Omgate and wireless connection from a smart device to Omgate.
Omgate is a simple and capable solution that’s deceptively powerful. For sites like managed apartments, hotels, offices and industrial sites, Omgate offers sophisticated access control without the hassle of managing keys or the expense associated with major access control applications. ♦
