Personalized Access

A number of companies in the security and access control industry are incorporating RFID components into a range of perimeter and building security systems, as well as vehicle and parking access applications. Transponders can be mounted on automobile windshields, contained in employee badges, or carried on key rings. Readers are mounted inside walls at doorways and outdoors alongside entranceways to parking garages and lots.

Resorts can use RFID tags to allow for access to specialized areas. For example, VIP guests may have access to the fitness club or golf clubhouse at a resort, and access can be granted based on the RFID tag issued as a "guest pass."

Security operations can also be enhanced using RFID data, and in fact, a form of RFID has been in use for many years in the form of "proximity cards," (a.k.a. "prox cards"). By simply passing a prox card near a reader, access can be granted to an individual based on data contained in the prox card. In additon, the action of granting access based on prox cards can also trigger other actions in a facility. For example, when a manager uses his prox card, it may also not only open the door, but turn on his computer, lights in his office, and even the copier. When an unauthorized person tries to gain access using a prox card, it can also trigger other actions, such as turning on security lights, alerting security staff, or even starting security cameras and recorders.