V-Gate Remote Gate Attendant

V-Gates (Support): A 21st Century alternative to onsite Security Guards which allows a remote guard to manage and monitor the access control and surveillance to your community. Remote Gate Attendants can be a back-up for your existing onsite guards, providing additional support when necessary.

At times when the onsite guard is in dispose or overwhelmed, the V-Gate Remote Gate Attendant, sometimes referred to as a Virtual Gate Guard, can be activated to take over for the guard until the distraction is handled or to open up a secondary lane to relieve stacking and overflow into the cross streets.

V-Gates (Supplement): Our flexible system can be a supplement to your existing onsite guards during light traffic hours, on the overnight shift for instance.

Supplementing our remote gate attendant, V-Gates, for even one shift can save a community thousands of dollars or a community with multiple gate entrances can replace onsite security with V-Gates at a side or back gate with limited traffic saving tens of thousands of dollars.

A great way to utilize V-gates is to replace the guard(s) at the gate with a V-Gates solution to allow the onsite guard(s) to become a rover, allowing them to roam the community, providing a much enhanced security presence. The “blended” solutions between technology and personnel often are the most effective solutions when they are affordable.

V-Gates (Alternative): Our highly capable system can also be a complete alternative to your existing onsite guards, complete with Driver’s License scanning, License Plate Capture and Recognition, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) access control reader, facial camera and two-way VOIP audio.

Our V-Gate system has multiple camera views, specialized License Plate Camera technology, reliable two-way audio and allows the remote guard to manage any connected technology, allowing our guards to open/close and lock/unlock gates and doors, turn on/off lighting or audio, activate/ trigger/ suppress alarms and sensors, alert onside guards, management or emergency services, such as local law enforcement, fire department, EMS, animal control or other services.

V-Gates integrates access control, video surveillance, audio intercom and other technology at remote sites to allow trained, supervised guards at a secure, robust, wholly owned and operated Security Operations Center (SOC) utilizing high-speed connectivity between the site and the SOC.

How V-Gates works to screen your guests:

As a guest approaches, video surveillance records the vehicle and a detection loop at the end of the street detects when a vehicle is stopped at the end of the street, possibly because cars have been backed up, sometimes known as stacking, triggering an alert to the SOC where a live guard is able to take immediate action to prevent cars from blocking oncoming traffic from the cross street.

When a vehicle arrives at the entrance they will notice the VG Kiosk with signage that lets the approaching driver know to stop for entry. Another loop may be installed at the Kiosk to send an automated alert to the SOC. Alternatively there may be technology that detects the vehicle and, using pre-enrolled visitor information, automatically screens the visitor and grants automated access.

Unexpected visitors who have not been pre-enrolled or pre-authorized must be screened manually by one of VG’s remote guards.

Manual Screening: An intercom established a direct connection to the SOC where a trained, supervised guard will communicate with the visitor, gather important information, such as the resident’s name who they wish to visit, while the system records the conversation and the visitor through a camera in the kiosk. If the visitor has been pre-enrolled on the resident’s visitor list, then the guard will grant access. If the visitor is not pre-enrolled or on the residents guest list, then the guard will call the resident to the phone numbers listed. If there is not answer or the resident does not want to accept the visitor, then the visitor is denied access. The entire transaction is stored at the site and redundantly at the SOC for future review.

Automated Screening Options: Automation helps the guards manage the entry gates more efficiently, reducing the average screening time by 20% to as much as 60% over manual screening alone. Reduced screening times creates a more pleasant and convenient experience for your visitors, increasing the perception of your community and fosters a safer entrance by avoiding stacking out into the crossroads and aggravated drivers. Automated screening options include: Driver’s License Image Scanning with Optical Character Recognition (OCR), License Plate Capture with OCR Recognition Software, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Intelligent Keypad with random code generation algorithm.

Driver’s License Image Scanner The driver of a vehicle may or may not actually be the owner of that vehicle, so to track who has entered into your community effectively, and to ensure those that enter your community with a vehicle actually have a valid license to operate that vehicle, obtaining proof of a Driver’s License is critical. Because there are laws which govern what information can be gathered and how it can be obtained, like Florida Statute 322.143, which prohibits capturing personal information from the barcode or magnetic strip found on the back of the license, VG uses an image scanner with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to only capture the public information on the front of the license. Once this information is obtained and transferred to the database, this information can be used by the system at a future date to verify the driver automatically and grant access to the visitor if the community chooses this form of automated access control.

License Plate Capture and Recognition

Due to the reflective nature of License Plates, traditional cameras, which uses a light sensor to capture images, frequently have trouble capturing the image of a license plate effectively, especially at night. Traditional cameras can be flooded with light from headlights, the glare of the sun or other light sources, which create “starbursts” of light within the image blocking out letters and numbers or the entire license plate.

VG uses the latest License Plate Capture technology which uses light filters, special software and/or sensors sensitive to the absence of light, sometimes referred to as negative exposure, to reduce or eliminate glare complications. The software inside these cameras, called Algorithmic Software, search the image for letters and numbers in a pattern typical of that found on a license plate and allows the camera to focus in on that part of the image ensuring the best capture of the license plate information.

Additional software in the Network Video Recorder (NVR), or in a separate server, can be added to “read” the image and decipher the letters and numbers for translation using OCR, as with the Driver’s License Image Scanner. Once this information is captured and translated, it can be stored in a database for future verification and to automatically grant access to the verified vehicle license plate.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

This form of identification for access control has been proven over decades. VG uses long range RFID readers, usually in the Resident Lanes, to verify and manage access for vehicles with authorized credential, including windshield stickers, headlamp stickers or other forms of credentials.

Credentials can be tracked and managed through access control software by any administrator, such as VG guards, your Community Association Manager or Property Manager. Access can be temporarily suspended in cases where dues are overdue or as a consequence for other violations.

License Plate Recognition can be used as a secondary back-up to the RFID for redundancy, however when the RFID is set up correctly it is very reliable.

Intelligent (Smart) Keypad

VG uses an “intelligent” keypad which works in conjunction with algorithmic software, our V-Gates Mobile App and SMS messaging to create a quick and secure way to grant access to verified visitors.

To quickly invite a guest, a resident simply opens the V-Gates software on any internet ready device with a unique password they create. The Resident then enters the name and phone number of the visitor to be verified. The Resident then chooses a length of time the visitor may have access for, typically 2,4 or 8 hours, and then a link is sent to the visitors smart device. Once the link is opened by the visitor the first time, they only have the predetermined amount of time to continue to use that link. Once the link is opened, the system generates a random, single-use, 5 digit code which must be used in a predetermined length of time (typically 3 minutes) or it will become expired. If the code is used to grant access within the specified length of time, it no longer is valid and a new code must be generated. Once the link has expired it can no longer be used to generate access codes. If the link is used from another smart device, the code will still be sent to the original phone entered into the system for security.

Two-way audio intercom

For residents and visitors who are not comfortable or able to use one or more of the automated systems or technologies, there is a simple call button on an intercom that sends a VOIP call to the SOC where it is sourced and answered by the next available VG remote guard in our SOC. Calls are pushed out to the next available guard as opposed to having to be recognized and manually answered by a guard. This saves time and avoids missed calls.

Our staff is multilingual for a variety of languages, with all being fluent in English and most fluent in Spanish, our two most popular languages spoken by visitors.

To further enhance efficiency within our SOC, two divisions have been created and cross trained. One division is responsible for all Asset Protection Alerts, while the second division is solely responsible for our V-Gate and V-Door services.

To further enhance efficiency within our SOC, two divisions have been created and cross trained. One division is responsible for all Asset Protection Alerts, while the second division is solely responsible for our V-Gate and V-Door services.

Many services prioritize Gate Access Control over Asset Protection, however when one alert is prioritized over another, such as Gate access over asset protection, the secondary alert, such as Asset Protection, can often be delayed for an unacceptable period of time or even overlooked. VG avoids complications caused by prioritization by sourcing each type of alert to the correct division whose guards are ready to service your community.

Communities or clients whose site is complex enough, or that need specialized services, are assigned to our VIP Division. In the VIP program, there is a limited number of guards assigned to a community or site, rather than alerts processed by the general bank of guards, so that they may get intimately familiar with that community or site. This specialization allows guards to better understand the demands of the site so that they can perform up to or above our clients expectations.

Variety of Access Points

V-Gate and V-Door technology is flexible and can be customized to be integrated into your current system or VG can install a completely new system. A VG system can interact with a variety of different access points, including Swing/Rolling Leaf Gates, Barrier Arms/Towers, electronic building entrance doors and turnstiles and other access control mechanisms.

VG can not only activate and manage your access control remotely, we can also monitor your access points for Vandalism, such as broken gates, “propped open” status, tampering and Locked/Unlocked status. Upon receiving of one of the aforementioned status alerts, VG guards will assess the site using video surveillance and determine the cause of the alert. Once the alert has been verified, the guard will follow predetermined “Post Orders” which may include contacting onsite management, a resident or even emergency services, such as law enforcement. The guard alternatively may simply correct the status by locking or unlocking doors, opening or closing gates or resetting a system as necessary.

When damage or vandalism occur, the incident is documented, which may include a short video clip, license plate image or other captured evidence, and sent to the community administrator along with an incident report for police or insurance.