uPass

uPASS

uPASS is a less costly solution that is, based on our tests, genuinely satisfactory for the majority of ordinary vehicle access control needs. I recommend the uPASS Reach reader with an elegant design and a range of 5m. The major advantage is the flexibility of identification tags.

Look at how the reader can match the design of the gate – the installation was carried out more than five years after the completion of building works and replaced an existing semiautomatic mode of remote control with individual identification.

The gate without a reader after the handover of the premises:

The gate with the reader installed after more than five years of operation:

For automatised entry, the user has a choice of tags, which are applied onto the vehicles, or an UHF card, which can additionally be used with the access control system installed in the building using either uPASS readers or as a combined card containing two contactless technologies. At the time of writing, the following options of combined cards are available: EM4102, Mifare 1K so 7byte CSN, MIFAREDESfire 4K, Legic Advant, HID Prox 26, HID Prox, HID iCLASS 2K 26bit, HID iCLASS with a custom format.

Ordinary vehicles can be equipped with a tag fixed onto the windshield. It is a small passive card measuring approximately 10×3cm (the dimensions can vary between regions). Users who require a stronger protection can use a tamper-proof tag, whose repeated affixation is apparent and generally renders the card non-functional. Tags with a customised graphical identity that can serve marketing purposes can be manufactured for larger companies.

Vehicles with a metallised window films present a situation that, however, is not without a solution.Considering that not all vehicles have blind zones on the windshields and that all the windows of certain vehicles contain metallised window films, communication can be impossible in such cases. We tested multiple car brands and we attempted to contact the vehicle vendors to enquire about the location of blind zones that can be used for the affixation of passive technologies; we did not receive clear answers. Based on our test results, we concluded that there is no rule applicable to all the cars within a single brand or even a single model range. In case the vehicle has no blind zones, external tags, which can be read by uPASS Reach in addition to UHF cards and UHF internal tags, can be applied in the front of the vehicle, either behind the front-end mask or under the number plate. The image on the right illustrates an external tag affixed under the number plate, which does not give an unappealing impression.

A very interesting solution s the utilisation of a special Dual!D card holder for double identification. This product necessitates setting the reader mode to dual. It is a very cost-effective solution, enabling the identification of both the vehicle and the driver. The Dual!D card holder, which possesses its own identification tag, holds the driver's UHF access card. The reader requests authorisation from the system only after it receives data from both tags. The solution is truly amazing and can be configured for scenarios involving the use of company vehicles based on the company policy, if it is supported by the access control system.

As usual, one cannot expect a high quality at a low cost. If you have an existing system and you wish to use dual identification, the cards will have to be replaced with combined UHF + preexisting technology. The combinations of technologies available have been mentioned above. The uPASS reader can operate in either a standard or dual mode, but a combined mode is unfortunately unavailable.