A mantrap or vestibule typically consists of a small room with two doors – one connected to the unsecured area and the other connected to the secured area. Gaining access from either side requires using a credential or identification validation, which is usually swiped against an access control reader. There are typically cameras set up to detect people passing through. Using mantraps is an important way for organisations to secure critical infrastructure, such as data centres, airports and government buildings.

However, tailgating is an ongoing problem. This is the term for when an unauthorised person gains access to a sensitive area by following someone who is authorised into a secured area—and it’s the main way criminals bypass most mantrap systems. All physical access systems, regardless of the underlying technology, are vulnerable to this problem.

Using Lidar, organisations can create more efficient mantraps that combat tactics for bypassing traditional camera-based systems. Quanergy’s mantrap solution, which consists of MQ-8 series Lidar sensors and Qortex DTC perception software, can detect tailgating through secure portals with far higher accuracy than proprietary optical imaging systems. The solution sees everything in 3D, unlike, according to Quanergy, camera-based systems that only see in 2D. It offers the coverage, granularity and accuracy needed to provide a hyper-accurate people count – the most critical component of the entire system. It’s available both as a standalone offering and as a supplement to existing security solutions that organisations have invested in.

Sonny Sekhon, senior product manager, Quanergy Systems, Inc., said: “Facilities like airports must have foolproof physical security systems, but most mantraps have historically lacked the visibility necessary to provide that level of safety. Using our solution, customers can implement mantraps that are hyper-accurate and hard to defeat using tailgating tactics. And it’s turnkey – especially if they are already using Qortex and Lidar for other applications such as perimeter intrusion detection.”