Plastic Optical Fibre Sensors in Automated Passenger Control Gates

For application at border crossings, railway stations and similar checkpoints, an automated security gate has been designed. It can be stacked into multiple passenger aisles. Networked and controllable remotely, the gate of each aisle reads and verifies with the central database the passenger´s fingerprint and data stored on his smart-ID-card. Motion of two sets of aisle doors is under a semi-autonomous microprocessor control providing comprehensive safety features. Supplementing a proprietary vision system for head-counting, the security is enhanced with photoelectric switches with plastic optical-fibre extensions that monitor the traffic and discriminate luggage versus additional (unauthorised) persons inside the aisle. Slim gate columns, 10 cm wide, house drives for two adjacent aisles.