SquintPRO · Vehicle access
Vehicle access control system in Saudi Arabia: gates that read the plate, with SquintPRO
A vehicle access control system decides which vehicles may pass a gate, opens the barrier for them and keeps a record of everyone who came and went. At many compounds, ports and factories in Saudi Arabia, a guard with a clipboard still makes that decision. SquintPRO, the video analytics platform Interkey builds, reads the number plate on a camera positioned for plate reading, checks it against the permitted list, signals the barrier and logs the entry with plate, time and image.
Orientation
At a glance
The page in one table, for the reader who has five minutes.
- What it does
- Reads the plate at the gate, checks it against your lists, signals the barrier and records the entry and exit
- Where it is used
- Compounds, ports and terminals, factories, logistics yards and residential communities
- Cameras
- Plate reading needs cameras positioned for plates, usually one lane per camera; alerts and search run on existing CCTV
- When a read fails
- The guard or control room gets the image and decides; nothing opens on a guess
- Where it runs
- On-premise, with footage kept on your site, or in the cloud with 3, 6 or 12 months' retention
- How it is licensed
- Per camera stream, with unlimited use cases on a licensed stream; quoted per site
- What it does not do
- Identify drivers: SquintPRO has no face recognition
What a vehicle access control system has to do
Whatever the site, the gate answers five questions for every vehicle, at any hour:
- Who is this? The plate, read from the camera image, is the vehicle's identity at the gate.
- May it enter? The plate is checked against a permitted list (staff, residents, contractors, fleet) and any list of vehicles to stop.
- Is it expected? Visitors and deliveries need a time-limited entry that someone inside approves.
- What happens now? The barrier opens, or the guard is asked to decide, with the image in front of them.
- What is kept? An entry and exit record with plate, time, lane and image.
Reading plates answers the first question. The value is in the other four, and in how the gate behaves when a read is uncertain.
What vehicle access control looks like at each type of site
| Site | Typical gate rules | What to settle before go-live |
|---|---|---|
| Compound or campus | Residents and staff on a permitted list; visitors approved by a host for a set time | Who adds and removes plates, and how quickly a removal takes effect |
| Port or terminal gate | Trucks expected for a booking or shift; restricted lanes for some vehicle types | How the gate record links to the systems that already run the terminal |
| Factory or plant | Staff, contractor and supplier vehicles; separate gates for goods and people | Which vehicles may enter loading and process areas, and at what hours |
| Logistics yard | Fleet and third-party trucks in and out around the clock | How long each vehicle stays, and what happens to one that has not left |
| Residential community | Residents permitted; guests and service vehicles by invitation | How residents register guests, and how drivers are told that plates are recorded |
ANPR gate access: from the plate read to the barrier
ANPR gate access, or automatic barrier plate recognition, starts with a readable plate. Angle, plate size in the image, shutter speed and night lighting decide most of the result, so the gate camera is placed for plates, usually one per lane. Our ANPR camera requirements guide sets out what to check at each lane.
Saudi plates show the registration in Arabic and in Latin letters and digits. The system should read both halves and store the plate in the form your permitted list uses. The read itself is covered on our number plate recognition page.
Read more
Once the plate is read and matched, the result goes to the barrier or to the access-control system that drives it, and the entry is written with the image, time and lane. How that signal reaches your barrier controller, and what the guard sees, is agreed during scoping.
RelatedANPR camera requirements guidenumber plate recognition page
Whitelist vehicle access, blocked vehicles and visitors
Whitelist vehicle access is the simple case: a permitted plate opens the barrier. The harder cases decide whether the gate is trusted:
- A plate that must be stopped. A barred vehicle never opens the barrier automatically; its arrival reaches the guard and control room with the image.
- A visitor or delivery. A host approves a plate for a day or a time window, and the approval lapses by itself.
- A failed or uncertain read. A dirty, damaged or partly hidden plate goes to the guard as an image, not as a guess.
- A vehicle that has not left. Entry and exit records show which vehicles are still inside.
Decide who owns each list and how changes are approved. Which lists SquintPRO holds, and which stay in the access-control system you already run, is settled during scoping.
What SquintPRO does at the gate and inside the site
SquintPRO works on the camera views the survey qualifies:
- Reads number plates at gates and entry points on cameras positioned for plate reading, and logs each vehicle's entry and exit with plate, time and image.
- Checks the read against the permitted list and sends the result to the barrier or access-control system.
- Alerts when a vehicle is where vehicles should not be, such as a pedestrian area or a restricted zone, during the hours you set. Each alert carries video evidence and goes to your control room or video management system.
- Tracks a vehicle across cameras on a map of the site, and searches recorded footage by description or reference image.
- Logs every event with timestamp, camera, zone and event type.
At ports, SquintPRO is already deployed on container and gate operations. See port gates and container yards. SquintPRO does not identify people: there is no face recognition.
Vehicle access control in the Kingdom: data, policy and support
Plate records show where and when a vehicle was seen, and most vehicles belong to people. Before go-live, decide the purpose of the records, who may search them, how long they are kept and how drivers are told. Where records contain personal data, Saudi Arabia's Personal Data Protection Law, overseen by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), belongs in that conversation.
On-premise, SquintPRO processing runs on your infrastructure and footage does not leave the site. In the cloud, recordings are kept for 3, 6 or 12 months. Interkey surveys, integrates and supports the system from Riyadh, with Arabic-speaking engineers who work with your security team and gate staff.
How a vehicle access project runs
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Gate and camera survey.
Each lane and camera is sorted into usable as is, usable after adjustment, or needing a plate camera.
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Rules and lists.
Who is permitted, who must be stopped, how visitors are approved and what the guard does when a read fails.
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Pilot on one gate.
One or two lanes, with written success criteria: reads day and night, and failed reads.
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Integration.
The barrier or access-control system, and the control room or video management system that receives alerts.
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Rollout and support.
More gates and sites once the pilot passes, with operation and support from Riyadh.
What drives the cost
SquintPRO is licensed per camera stream, and a licensed stream can run as many use cases as the site needs, so a gate camera can read plates and raise vehicle alerts without a second licence. The quote is built from the number of gates and lanes, whether plate cameras must be added, the camera streams inside the site, the deployment model and the systems to integrate. See what determines SquintPRO pricing.
Questions buyers ask
Can a vehicle access control system open our barrier without a guard?
For plates on the permitted list, yes. The read is matched and the result is sent to the barrier or the access-control system that drives it. A barred plate, an unlisted vehicle and an uncertain read all reach the guard with the image.
How do visitors and delivery trucks get through a plate-based gate?
Through a time-limited entry. A host or the logistics team approves the plate for a day or a window, and the approval lapses on its own. Agree during scoping who may approve, so the gate never depends on a list nobody updates.
Do we have to replace our existing gate cameras and access-control system?
Not the access-control system: SquintPRO sends its result to the barrier or the system you already run. Gate cameras are a different matter. Plate reading needs cameras positioned for plates, usually one per lane, and the survey says which of your cameras qualify.
Can the gate system handle Saudi plates in Arabic and Latin characters?
It should read both halves and store the plate in the form your permitted list uses, so a list typed in Latin characters still matches a plate read in Arabic. Test it on real vehicles at your own gate, day and night, during the pilot.
Where are plate records kept, and can they stay inside Saudi Arabia?
On-premise, SquintPRO runs on your infrastructure and footage stays on your site. In the cloud, recordings are kept for 3, 6 or 12 months. Either way, set who may search the records and for how long before go-live.
How long does it take to put plate-based access on our gates in KSA?
It depends on the number of gates and lanes, whether plate cameras must be added, the systems to integrate and how quickly the lists and rules are agreed. Interkey gives an estimate after the gate survey, and the work starts with a pilot on one gate before any rollout.
Next
Related pages
Next step
Plan plate-based access for your gates
Tell us about the site, its gates and lanes, and how vehicles are checked today. We will tell you where plate cameras are needed, how the barrier would be connected and what a pilot on one gate could measure.
Or directly
+966-11-2180999 [email protected]Tawuniya Towers, North Tower, 7th Floor, King Fahad Highway, Olaya, P.O. Box 56835, Riyadh 11564, Saudi Arabia