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Gate automation meets intruder-detection

Writers of popular weird fiction such as H.P. Lovecraft and, much more recently, British author Ramsey Campbell, frequently posited in their tales (and Mr Campbell undoubtedly continues to do so) the case that hidden just beyond the thin veneer of our world and our reality lie malicious cosmic horrors that are easily disturbed and wish to bring about the ultimate downfall of mankind.

These works maintain that the fabric that separates us from forces of unspeakable cosmic evil is all but non-existent, and that we as human beings going about our daily lives are in constant danger of attracting their most unfavourable attention.

These are, of course, works of imaginative fiction and this is perhaps hyperbole at its most gratuitous, but the sad reality is that rampant crime has instilled this sort of gloomy world view in most of us. Speak to a group of people at a trauma intervention session and you are likely to discover that on top of the fear that they now live with, they also harbour a sense of outrage and indignation at the penetration of their personal sanctuaries, their homes, by the Dionysian forces of evil.

Most of us who have been victims of crime, especially something like home intrusion, feel that the violation of something very sacred has taken place and view this as an affront to our liberty, not to mention a threat to our safety.

For exactly this reason, intruder-detection has become a monumentally important part of our lives; from alarm systems to GSM notification devices to perimeter beams: the range of intruder-detection solutions seems to grow each year.

Making the logical connection between gate automation and perimeter security, Centurion Systems combines in its new generation gate motors and traffic barriers the convenience of automation with the formidable security of intruder-detection. As Centurion points out, effective integration of security systems has become a very powerful tool in the fight against crime and home intrusion in particular and, from a practicality and cost-effectiveness point of view, having a central security hub is preferable to employing several different systems working on their own. Furthermore, the entrance gate providing access to one’s property can be seen as the fabric to which an allusion was made earlier on in this very article, forming a barrier between the perceived safety of our homes and whatever ill-intentioned forces lurk beyond the threshold. Centurion believes that if the gate is properly secured, then that fabric is significantly strengthened.

This knowledge has led the company to create the innovative intruder-detection alarm feature-set and make it native to the Centurion D-Series range of gate operators and traffic barriers which includes the flagship D5-Evo domestic/light-industrial sliding gate motor. This feature-set – consisting of the Break-in Alarm and the Ambush Alarm – enables homeowners to have a reliable and effective intrusion notification system right at their entrance gate.

Both of these modes work in tandem with standard infrared gate safety beams such as one would use to prevent your gate closing onto people or vehicles, and work according to the following operating principles:

The Ambush Alarm activates the onboard buzzer of the gate motor (or traffic barrier) controller if the safety beams are interrupted for a preconfigured time, notifying home-owners audibly should would-be intruders loiter at their gate or cover the beams with nail polish or insulation tape so that the gate remains open once the residents have entered.

The Break-in Alarm, on the other hand, sounds the alarm the moment that the beams are interrupted, which means that the homeowners are always made aware of any activity at the gate. Both of these alarm modes can be relayed to a third-party alarm system or an armed response company and are very easily set up using the user-friendly LCD interface which is now a staple of this manufacturer’s access automation devices.

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