What Elatec is building is simple: it’s the engine behind the ID card reader. Why is this important? As consumer businesses increasingly move to mobile wallets like Apple and Android, they need to update all payment methods in the building to support these wallets – for vending machines, point-of-sale systems, electric vehicle charging stations, parking garages, elevators, etc.
Simply put, access authorization is no longer just about unlocking the door and controlling access. Reader technology is at the heart of digital transformation, and reader manufacturers are finding that their systems are now being tasked with communicating across multiple systems. A single Elatec reader can be used for access control, secure printing, Internet of Things (IoT) use cases, and more.
Elatec currently supports more than 70 RFID protocols and is fully compatible with the entire HID credential portfolio and the entire dormakaba suite, including Mifare/DESFire. In addition, physical credential protocols such as LEAF, TWIC, CAC and PIV are supported.
Elatec powered readers support BLE and NFC credentials including standards such as PKOC, Aliro and Apple Wallet through technology partners such as NXP and LEGIC.
“Our solution enables OEM partners to seamlessly integrate advanced credential reading capabilities, ensuring their products are flexible, efficient and ready for the demands of the global market,” said Paul Massey, CEO of Elatec. “By being compatible with a wide range of credential types, Elatec helps embedded manufacturers reduce development time, improve product functionality and provide customers with added value in a variety of applications.”
An open platform
Just as the Mercury access control platform is successful because it is the most open access control platform, Elatec readers offer the end user the ability to grow organically or through acquisition without replacing door hardware, reducing budget and security concerns when changing credential types is not practical.
Although readers with Elatec technology work with more than 70 RFID protocols, there must be a way to restrict these protocols so that the reader cannot be unlocked with just any ID card. Readers with Elatec technology are fully programmable.
A programmable interface allows the installer to globally program all readers at a site or program individual readers for higher security applications. The programming interface also provides the integrator or end user with the ability to lock a reader after programming so that it cannot be reprogrammed.
Impact on integrator operations
What does all this mean for the security integrator? Imagine only having to stock two readers on a service vehicle, plus a post mount and a wall mount.
By challenging the status quo in the ID card reader market, Elatec helps security integrators standardize on a reader – potentially from multiple vendors – that makes interoperability, digital transformation and business intelligence a reality.
The reader would work with all credential types – HID, dormakaba and mobile credentials (both in the native mobile wallet and in individual application wallets). This means that integrators no longer have to look for a single manufacturer based on the credential type. This is a win-win situation for end users and security integrators.
