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cardgate / How it works
Tap → Identify → Transmit → Unlock

From card tap to open door — in under one second.

Four building blocks that mesh seamlessly: a multi-format reader, local classification, an encrypted wireless bridge and a controller with twelve I/O channels. No cloud round-trip. No latency problem.

< 1s
End-to-end latency
512bit
Wireless encryption
10km
Hybrid-Sphere range
12I/O
Controller channels
The full sequence

Four steps. No compromises.

Each step on its own is solved engineering — the combination is what makes cardgate® a platform.

  1. 01 · TAP

    Present card

    The user holds any 13.56 MHz medium to the reader — no app, no registration, no card-logistics overhead. Bank, loyalty or wallet card: whatever is already in the wallet becomes the key.

  2. 02 · IDENTIFY

    Reader classifies locally

    The NXP PN532 automatically detects ISO/IEC 14443 A/B, MIFARE® DESFire®, FeliCa™, EMV Contactless, Apple Pay and Google Pay — reads UID or token, checks against the local whitelist and decides in milliseconds. Network-free.

  3. 03 · TRANSMIT

    Hybrid-Sphere wireless bridge

    The proprietary transmission technology developed by keynexis AG connects reader and controller across up to 10 kilometres — 512-bit encrypted with effective protection against replay attacks. No wiring, no cellular dependency, no SIM cards.

  4. 04 · UNLOCK

    Controller switches

    Four analog dry-contact outputs and eight digital interfaces drive sliding-door motors, electric locks, turnstiles or industrial actuators directly. SPI · I²C · UART · pulse — the controller speaks the protocol your equipment understands.

Topology

This is how cardgate® is built.

Reader and controller are physically separated — connected only via the encrypted wireless bridge. This simplifies installation, hardens security and makes even distant doors reachable.

Reader · NXP PN532

at the entrance · IP65

Controller · 12 I/O

4× analog · 8× digital

Door · lock · equipment

sliding door · turnstile · industrial
Use cases

Where cardgate® shines today.

Hospitality

Guests open the room with the bank card they have on file anyway — no more check-in card theatre.

Properties

Tenants, deliveries and guests — every card becomes a key without you having to order plastic.

Industry & logistics

SPI/I²C control meets dry-contact outputs: turnstiles, barriers and warehouse gates driven directly.

Clubs & venues

Read SwissPass and member cards, manage opening hours centrally — without forcing a dedicated app on members.

What you don’t need

What was deliberately left out.

cardgate® isn’t “minimal” — it only omits what would compromise security or reliability.

— No cloud dependency

No single point of failure, no security risk from public APIs. Optional Wi-Fi — for the portal only, never in the door-opening path.

Offline-first

— No separate app

The card already in the wallet is the access medium. No install, no Bluetooth pairing, no QR code.

Zero-app

— No wiring

Reader and controller don’t need to be physically connected. Hybrid-Sphere bridges up to 10 km — encrypted and energy-efficient.

Wireless bridge
See it live at your site

30-minute demo. On-site or remote.

We configure cardgate® with you — from the first tap to the first opened door.

Request a demo See features