Automatic Gate Barriers for Parking and Perimeter Control in the UAE: CAME & BFT Solutions
VertiLinks Technologies is an authorised dealer and certified installer for CAME and BFT automatic boom barriers in the UAE, serving parking facilities, residential communities, commercial properties, industrial complexes, and government infrastructure across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and the wider GCC. CAME, founded in 1972 in Treviso, Italy, and BFT, established in 1981 in Schio, Italy, are among the world's most deployed automatic gate and barrier manufacturers, with combined installations numbering in the tens of millions globally. Both brands are synonymous with Italian engineering quality, long product lifecycles, and extensive UAE market experience through VertiLinks' decade-long partnership.
The correct specification of an automatic gate barrier is a technical exercise that goes far beyond selecting a product from a catalogue. Lane width, daily cycle count, vehicle typology (cars, vans, trucks, containers), boom type and length, motor technology, safety device configuration, integration with LPR cameras, loop detectors, intercom systems, and parking management software — all of these variables interact to determine the right system for each application. VertiLinks' engineers have designed barrier systems ranging from single-lane office parking with 100 daily cycles to multi-lane logistics hubs operating around the clock with over 10,000 daily cycles. We bring this experience to every project, regardless of size.
CAME Barrier Range: From Standard Traffic to Industrial Applications
The CAME GARD GT4 (4m boom) and GT8 (8m boom) are among the UAE's most widely deployed entry-level barriers, used extensively in residential building car parks, commercial office parking, and retail centre access lanes. The GT series uses a robust electromechanical motor with worm gear transmission, rated for 100 cycles per hour and up to 500,000 total cycles. A built-in encoder monitors boom position in real time, enabling intelligent obstacle detection that halts and reverses the boom if resistance is sensed during travel — protecting vehicles and pedestrians from impact. The GARD GT series accepts optional LED boom lighting for increased visibility in low-light environments, a feature particularly appreciated in basement car parks.
The CAME GARD PX Brushless represents the highest tier of CAME's electromechanical barrier range. The brushless DC motor eliminates the carbon brush components that require periodic replacement in conventional motors, delivering a maintenance-free motor life rated at 10 million cycles — approximately 30 years at 1,000 daily cycles. The GARD PX Brushless achieves full opening in 1.5 seconds for 4m booms and 2 seconds for 6m booms, making it suitable for high-throughput environments including corporate campus entry gates, hotel valet lanes, and busy retail car parks. The onboard ZL78 control board supports TCP/IP connectivity, remote management via the CAME Connect cloud platform, and integration with parking management systems through serial and relay interfaces.
Hydraulic barriers represent the pinnacle of boom barrier performance, using pressurised hydraulic oil and a servo-controlled actuator to achieve opening cycles under 1 second for standard booms and 1.5 seconds for booms up to 6m. CAME's hydraulic GARD models are specified for toll plazas, border crossing facilities, airport parking, and any environment where cycle rates exceed 200 per hour and operator waiting time must be minimised to fractions of a second. The hydraulic system is enclosed in a weatherproof housing rated to IP55, maintaining consistent performance in the UAE's extreme summer temperatures where ambient air temperature can exceed 48°C and direct solar radiation can heat housing surfaces to 70°C or above.
BFT Barrier Range: Engineering Excellence for Demanding Environments
The BFT Moovi 30, 50, and 60 are BFT's flagship electromechanical barrier range, named for their continuous duty ratings. The Moovi 60 is rated for continuous operation — it can run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year without thermal shutdown — making it the standard specification for toll plaza and high-throughput environments across the GCC. BFT's proprietary SlowDown technology provides smooth, velocity-controlled deceleration as the boom approaches the fully open or closed position, reducing mechanical shock and extending component life. The Moovi series accepts BFT's full range of accessories including LED boom arms, courtesy lights, and the BFT Botticelli B CEI certified pedestrian presence detector.
LPR Integration: Automated Vehicle Access Without Barriers and Tickets
License plate recognition (LPR) cameras, when integrated with barrier controllers, enable a completely frictionless vehicle access experience. Cameras are positioned 2–4m before the barrier, capturing the vehicle's number plate as it approaches. The LPR engine (deployed on a local server or cloud) performs real-time plate recognition and queries the access database to determine whether the vehicle is authorised. If authorised, the barrier opens automatically within 500–800 milliseconds of plate capture — before the vehicle needs to stop. For visitor management, LPR systems can integrate with visitor booking platforms that pre-register expected vehicles, enabling them to proceed without any interaction with security staff or physical barriers.
VertiLinks implements Hikvision and Dahua ANPR cameras alongside barrier systems, with the LPR server integrated into the parking management software through API. We configure allowlist and blocklist management, visitor pre-registration workflows, exception alerting for unrecognised plates, and full audit reporting of all vehicle transactions. For multi-site deployments, centralised LPR management enables vehicles authorised at one site to be automatically permitted at all sites within the fleet.
Safety Standards and UAE Compliance Requirements
Automatic gate barriers in the UAE must comply with international safety standard EN 13241 (industrial, commercial, and garage doors and gates) and the CAME and BFT range is CE-certified accordingly. Key safety features required by VertiLinks on all installations include: photocell pairs (transmitter and receiver) positioned at vehicle height on both sides of the boom that detect any object in the boom's travel path and halt movement; boom safety edges that detect physical contact during travel and trigger immediate reversal; amber warning lights that illuminate during barrier operation to alert approaching vehicles and pedestrians; and audible warnings for environments where visual signals alone may be insufficient. Vehicle induction loops are installed in the driving surface for vehicle presence detection, preventing boom closure onto a partially exited vehicle.