Welcome to the Axess Smart Gate Integration!
Designed for high-throughput venues such as museums, observation decks, and major attractions, this solution connects physical Axess gatekeeper turnstiles directly to Palisis. By automating admission validation at the physical turnstile, you eliminate manual ticket checks, accelerate visitor flow, and maintain real-time capacity control across your venue.
Below is an overview of what the integration offers, how the real-time scanning workflow functions, and the key operational considerations to keep in mind.
What does it mean?
Overview & key capabilities
Connecting your Axess Gatekeeper turnstiles to Palisis transforms physical access control into a fully automated, real-time extension of your ticketing ecosystem:
- Comprehensive validation & Real-time check-in: Standard barcode and QR code tickets are scanned, validated against the database, and checked in instantly at the moment of entry.
- Group ticket support: Group bookings are validated and decremented reliably based on the configured party size.
- OTA & partner voucher redemption: Online travel agency (OTA) and third-party partner vouchers are redeemed at the flap using the exact same reliable business logic found on handheld Palisis validator devices.
- Product restrictions: Direct guest flow with precision. You can limit specific physical Axess terminals to designated products (e.g. general admission vs. fast-track or special exhibition gates) directly from your BackOffice front end.
Validation-only hardware: Axess gate terminals are dedicated validation and barrier-control units; they do not print paper tickets or receipts.
Known operational considerations
To ensure your front-of-house team manages guest traffic effectively, please keep these current technical boundaries in mind:
Multi-ticket vouchers: When a multi-ticket voucher is presented, the voucher itself is redeemed on the initial scan, but check-in applies sequentially to one ticket at a time. For example, for a booking containing 10 admissions, the code must be scanned 10 times to admit all 10 visitors through the turnstile.
How does it work?
The validation sequence
The diagram and step-by-step table below outline the secure, real-time validation process:
| Sequence Step | Component | Action description | Technical details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Step 1: Initiation | Visitor / Axess gate terminal | The visitor presents a digital or printed 2D barcode/QR code to the Axess optical reader. | 2D barcode scan at the terminal head. |
| Step 2: Transmission | Axess ATG (Axess Turnstile Gate) Controller | The local gate controller encapsulates the credential payload and initiates a validation query. | Outbound HTTPS REST request sent from the gate controller to the Palisis API endpoint. |
| Step 3: Evaluation | Palisis Backend | Palisis Server (Backend) evaluates the ticket record against booking status, time slot, and operational line rules. | Database lookup and business logic execution. |
| Step 4: Decision | Palisis Backend | A structured JSON response packet is returned to the local gate controller (Success or Access Denied). | HTTPS response carrying validation payload and status flags. |
| Step 5: Actuation | Axess ATG (Axess Turnstile Gate) / Visitor | If valid, the controller triggers the physical motor relay, opening the glass flaps while flashing a green visual indicator and sounding a chime. | Motorised barrier actuation with audio-visual guest feedback. |
Terminal display
The Axess display terminal provides immediate visual feedback to guide visitors through the lane:
- Access granted: When credentials are authenticated, the screen displays a green chevron pattern with the message "Welcome – Please enter", accompanied by an affirmative audio tone as the flaps retract.
- Access denied: If a ticket is invalid, expired, or already used, the screen displays a red diagonal warning banner with the message "Sorry – No Valid ticket found", and the gate barrier remains securely locked.
Access Granted Screen
Access Denied Screen
Heartbeat & connectivity monitoring
The heartbeat is a periodic unicast UDP connectivity check sent to ATGs every 60 seconds. To maintain a robust operational status, the Palisis App runs an automated device availability service:
| Monitoring parameter | Value / Frequency | Purpose & technical flow |
|---|---|---|
| Heartbeat command | cmd=getversion | A diagnostic query sent via unicast UDP to each registered Axess turnstile controller. |
| Polling frequency | Every 60 seconds | Routine polling to confirm that the hardware controller is responsive. |
| Timeout interval | 5 seconds | If the controller fails to reply within 5 seconds, the terminal is flagged as offline. |
| Application UI indicator | Grey Icon / Greyed-out containers | In the Mobile App interface, offline devices are greyed out to alert supervisors immediately. |
| Automatic recovery | Instantaneous | As soon as an offline terminal responds to a subsequent poll, its status returns to Online (Green). |
Operational behaviour and limitations
- Ticket checking: Tickets are validated against the live database at the exact moment of scanning. If a ticket has already been checked in (for example, at an auxiliary desk or manual checkpoint), the gate will treat it as used and will not open.
- Voucher redemption: Vouchers are redeemed simultaneously when scanned. In high-traffic periods, ensure a stable internet connection so the full round-trip query completes well within the configured timeout window.
- Handling large bookings/High load: In cases of high system load or poor connectivity, a timeout may lead to an "invalid ticket" error even if the redemption was successful in the background.
- Gate logic: The system incorporates anti-collision logic to prevent the same barcode from being scanned at two adjacent gates at the same time. The first terminal to read the code locks the record until the transaction completes, preventing duplicate entry across parallel lanes.
Good to know
⚠️ Critical network architecture mandate:
Ensure your network engineering team implements strict VLAN segmentation and network isolation for all Axess gate hardware. The local UDP communications between the turnstile controllers and on-site staff devices are unencrypted; isolating gate hardware onto a dedicated, private operational network is essential to safeguard system integrity.
FAQs
Why might a visitor receive an "Invalid Ticket" message during high-traffic periods?
What happens if a visitor attempts to pass their ticket back to someone else in line?
The validation engine records the ticket state the moment the flap opens. Any subsequent scan of that same barcode triggers the multi-entry rule, locking the gate and rejecting the pass-back attempt.