The number of end-users implementing pedestrian entrance control parameters is increasing, and speed gates are the most in-demand entrance control products. Their tracking functions and sleek designs are attractive to the thousands of customers looking to monitor workers hours, as well as restrict the access of unauthorised pedestrians.

Violent events are forcing building managers to re-think their security strategies

The office industry continues to be the biggest market for pedestrian entrance control products. In fact, it is quite rare to enter an office building without security parameters in place, but active shooter events in North America and terrorist attacks in Europe have forced building managers to re-think security measures. These tragic events are driving increased adoption of building entrance control in the office industry. Traditionally, speed gates were only installed in the lobbies of main office buildings, but now the demand for speed gate installation in corporate campuses and other multi-building sites has increased.

Speed gates offer several benefits to building managers beyond security. Other entrance control products, like security doors and tripod turnstiles, are characterised as slow and unsightly, but speed gates provide increased efficiency and end-user comfort. Some speed gates are even capable of tracking employees’ hours and directing them to the appropriate elevator. This feature limits access to floors, creating another level of security and reducing elevator wait times.

Fast pace of the Asian metro rail industry 

The metro rail industry in Asia is increasing at an extremely fast pace, and speed gates are being installed to perform ticket validation. Mainland China is implementing its five-year rail expansion plan to which the government budgeted over $500 billion. Another country with a rapidly expanding metro system is India. India has opened seven metro lines since 2017 and plans to open at least five more through 2023. These developments are driving speed gate market growth in the metro industry.

United States presidential order boosts speed gate market

In March 2017, US president Donald Trump signed an executive order demanding facial recognition in airports to track visitors and serve as a passport for residents and citizens. This technology will be attached to speed gates that will grant or deny access to travellers. It is projected that the system will be used to collect data on the more than 100 million passengers who fly out of the United States each week. Facial recognition will be used at the top 20 US airports by 2021, which means these facilities will need to install a sufficient number of speed gates by 2021.

Cyber security skepticism prevents technological innovation

The pedestrian entrance control industry is in the “late majority” group of the innovation curve and very skeptical about change and innovation. There have been talks in the last couple of years about implementing Internet of things (IoT) connectivity and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into speed gates, but cyber security concerns have stopped it from happening. IHS Markit found that most speed gates have IP capable devices, which means they wouldn’t have a problem adding these features. A frequently used solution for this problem in other industries has been the hiring of “ethical hackers”, who attempt to hack systems and report back any found vulnerabilities.

"All of these factors will propel this market forward during the next five years," concludes Gonzalez.