As members of the human race, the desire – or, to be more accurate, the need – to protect what is ours, is inborn. Thousands of years of evolution have ensured that we will fight tooth and nail so that no harm will to come to us, our loved ones, or our possessions. Whenever we are in danger, those little evolutionary alarms go off and our bodies offer us two choices: either run away or stand and fight. This is what psychologists call the fight or flight response.
But modern technology provides us with a third alternative: prevent. What if we didn’t have to stand and fight but didn’t exactly have to turn tail and run, either? We can efficiently protect what is ours by simply making good use of the tools that the Cyber Age has given to us.
Gate motors have been around for the last two decades or so and, much like us, they have also evolved to be quick-thinking, robust machines that are able to relentlessly guard our homes and offices like unflinching sentinels. They also serve as faithful servants, opening and closing our entrance gates without so much as a word of objection – it’s what they were built to do.
The benefits offered by gate motors are manifold, and we will now look at some of them. We’ll also discuss a very close relative of gate automation, namely access control.
1. Safer
The obvious detriment to one’s lumbar region aside, getting out of your vehicle to open a gate can be extremely hazardous from a personal safety perspective. We’ve all heard of people getting hijacked or attacked while opening their gates. Having a gate motor installed may not eliminate this possibility entirely, but it will certainly reduce the likelihood. Some modern gate motors have adjustable speed settings, meaning that you can have your gate open and close rapidly and thus reduce the time that the gate is open and also the time that you are stationary in your vehicle. There are also some particularly advanced operators with innovative features such as beam automatic closing, whereby the gate closes the moment that the safety beams have been cleared.
2. Convenient
Why go through all the effort of stopping your car, getting out, and then straining your poor, long-suffering back just so that you can get into your own property? It is certainly much more convenient to simply press a button and let your gate motor do the rest. Gate motors also offer you considerable freedom when it comes to the manner in which you will activate it, since you can connect anything from a remote receiver to an intercom and use that as a triggering device. There are even GSM-modules that allow you to trigger your gate using your mobile phone. It doesn’t get more convenient than that, especially in an age where our phones have become extensions of our arms.
3. Versatile
Yes, gate motors do open and close gates, but there are several models on the market that do so much more than that. Some models provide onboard timers, allowing you to set automatic activations or to bar certain inputs from working at set times, while others can be interfaced with third party alarm systems and infrared beams so that you’re notified when would-be criminals are loitering in front of your gate. It’s easy to see how a device that once had a singular purpose has now become a compact electronic defence force.
4. Total control
As I mentioned in the introduction to this article, we’ll also take a brief look at access control. Now, access control is rather a broad term and can refer to any number of devices including keypads, proximity card readers, GSM-modules, traffic barriers and of course gate motors. The wonderful thing about access control is that it affords you total control over who enters (or leaves) a property.
Some variants, particularly proximity tag readers, can be interfaced with computers and allow the user to upload transaction logs, edit functionality remotely, selectively add and delete users, etc. This does its bit for convenience as well as security.
Innovation in the field has also ensured that no matter what your automation requirement – whether you have a swing or sliding gate, light or extremely heavy, whether you require automation for your home or business – there is bound to be a gate motor and/or access control system out there for you.
So don’t wait: Automate!
