UMD-VAST
Venue Access System for Turnstiles


The Unique Micro Design Venue Access System for Turnstiles (UMD-VAST) is a modern, scalable software system that provides large venues such as entertainment complexes, football grounds, racecourses and other sporting venues with a flexible access control platform which is independent of turnstile hardware and ticketing systems.

The solution handles access to areas and venues, voiding and re-issuing of tickets, integration to ticketing systems, real time reporting, turnstile management and more!

UMD-VAST runs under the Linux operating system (Sun Solaris under development) and uses the PostgreSQL database. All management, operation and administration functions are performed through web interfaces.

Ticketing information is generated from external systems and is up loaded into UMD-VAST, which focuses on access control, but can also manage on-the-day (ie real-time), replacement and cancellation of tickets.

The system can be fully customised to meet with a venue’s exacting requirements.

Features:

  • UMD-VAST is based on Unique Micro Design’s Edge (UMD-Edge) technology which is an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) platform that enables enterprise systems to relegate responsibility for control, management and monitoring of edge devices, such as RFID and barcode readers, actuators, sensors, turnstiles and human interface terminals.
  • Control, monitoring and management of access entry systems
  • Manages the ingress to controlled areas (e.g. current ticket valid for the area, only used once)
  • Real-time monitoring of traffic – eg determines attendance numbers of each area as required by safety management so that an area can be blocked if it has become full
  • Provides the location of specific ticket holders within a controlled area
  • Real-time voiding and re-issue of tickets
  • Manages access for accredited personnel
  • Is a multi-user system with security access levels
  • Management reports
  • Flexible – customised to meet each implementation’s unique requirements

Ticketing Model / Access Control

Tickets are issued to people (eg the public, club members, members’ guests, accredited personnel and others) to provide access to a venue or venues for a particular event or set of events.

Access may be limited to specific areas within a venue. Ingress/egress from an area is via gates which have turnstiles.

Each ticket has a unique machine readable id (eg bar code, magnetic stripe or smart card token) which can be read by turnstiles or other access control devices. The id read by the access control device is sent to the UMD-VAST System for verification. The UMD-VAST system will know the identity of the turnstile and hence the area that the ticket holder is moving from and to. As well as checking permissions, UMD-VAST optionally checks for second entry.

The ticket is typically printed and will provide a human readable visual code that may not be the same as the machine readable id code.

Each ticket has a list of permissions defined by its access class that indicate what areas it can access during specified events at specified venues.

Each ticket also has an optional associated ticket type which is used for reporting purposes.

Computer system requirements

The UMD-VAST system can run on any Linux or Sun Solaris 9 (or higher) computer system with sufficient hard disk and computing power for the task at hand.

Turnstile Hardware

UMD-VAST is independent of the turnstile hardware. Existing Turnstile and other devices are connected via Unique Micro Design‘s engineering ICT solutions capabilities in hardware interfacing and custom electronic design.

For example, PMSI turnstiles connect with the PC based PMSI Master Turnstile Controller. With the UMD-VAST system, the PMSI Master Turnstile Controller is replaced with a custom-programmed protocol converter that connects to UMD-VAST via an ethernet network.

This independence allows existing hardware to be used in installations modernised with UMD-VAST.

Mobile Turnstiles

For mobile applications, a Microsoft® .NET module is provided to allow mobile smart devices to act as turnstiles via a real-time WiFi network.

User Interface

UMD-VAST provides a standard multi-user web service for the management interface. This provides a significant advantage over other access control systems – zero client installation with true multi-user capabilities. By using a web interface, it allows a variety of mobile smart devices and mobile phones to access the system remotely.

Three levels of end user access control are provided for security purposes: administrator, operational and viewers.

Events

Events are readily set up by name with date, areas and access controls for the area settings.

Areas

Many areas may be defined to allow for finely tuned access control according to ticket access class.

External ticketing application interfaces

UMD-VAST interfaces with external ticketing systems including membership and accreditation systems via import/export files. This allows member attendance to be recorded, for example for loyalty rewards purposes. This module will by necessity need to be customised to suit the individual requirements of a venue.

UMD-VAST™ also supports real-time data interchange with external applications using Application Program Interfaces (API) based on light-weight HTTP web services.

Replacing tickets

UMD-VAST can re-issue, and void, lost or stolen tickets in real-time with the access rights of any replaced ticket being transferred to the newly issued ticket, providing rapid customer service at the venue during the event.

The real-time tracking of ticket holders throughout a venue proves invaluable to second entry dispute resolutions.

Reports

A variety of real-time and batch reports are provided. Real-time reports, for example, allow management to accurately determine the occupancy of areas during an event and attendance by ticket type.

Searching by ticket holder name can be performed in real-time (where names have been associated with a ticket).

Batch reports enable post event analysis, eg occupancy graph by time. Data can be readily exported for detailed analysis by external software packages.

Other features

UMD-VAST™ provides other features such as audit logs, real-time back up of databases to enable disaster recovery procedures and remote administration and support.

The design of UMD-VAST means that it is inherently flexible and readily customised to enable to growth with a venue’s requirements.

“the celebration that stops a nation”™

The first generation system was used for access control at the Victorian Racing Club’s Melbourne Cup Carnival in 2006, www.vrc.net.au, which was their most successful carnival on record. The experience gained from this prestigious international event has been folded into the second generation of UMD-VAST.


Current installed sites:
  • Victorian Racing Club - Flemington (Melbourne, Australia)
  • Melbourne Racing Club - Caulfield (Melbourne, Australia)
  • Moonee Valley Racing Club - Moonee Valley (Melbourne, Australia)
  • Sydney Turf Club - Rosehill & Canterbury Racecourse(Sydney, Australia)
  • Australian Jockey Club - Royal Randwick Racecourse (Sydney, Australia)
  • Wentworth Park - Greyhound racing (Sydney, Australia)
  • Dairy Farmers Stadium - Rugby (Townsville, Australia)
  • Hindmarsh Stadium (Adelaide, Australia)
  • Suncorp Stadium (Brisbane, Australia)
  • Bangladesh Cricket Board - (Chittagong, Bangladesh)
  • Bangladesh Cricket Board - (Mipur, Bangladesh)
  • Royal Melbourne Show - (Melbourne, Australia)
  • Parramatta Stadium - (Sydney, Australia)
  • WIN Stadium -(Sydney, Australia)
  • Mystery Creek Exhibition Centre - (Mystery Creek, New Zealand)
  • 1300 Smiles Stadium - (Townsville, Australia)
  • Kalgoorlie-Boulder Racing Club - (Kalgoorlie, Australia)
  • Luna Park - (Sydney, Australia)
  • South Australian Jockey Club - (Adelaide Australia)
Ordering Information and Pricing
Part Number Model Number Description RRP
Inc GST
T
%
[A] UMD VAST Licencing
Licences
9-3301-100-5 UMD-VAST, Site Licence
9-3301-500-3 UMD-VAST, Mobile Turnstile Licence V2
9-3301-101-2 UMD-VAST, Controller Licence
Maintenance
9-3301-300-0 UMD-VAST, Annual Maintenance
Rental
9-3301-400-6 UMD-VAST, Rental
[B] Services
9-3301-200-3 UMD-VAST, Customisation / Scoping