Press Release

AIRPORTS ESTABLISHING NATIONWIDE TREND FOR PROTECTING PEDESTRIANS FROM PARKING GATE INJURIES

This document is available in .PDF format Most national airports have large numbers of parking gates often located near busy pedestrian traffic paths. Powered parking gates without electronic non-contact safety equipment represent a significant potential risk to pedestrians. Unprotected parking gates are particularly dangerous in environments where pedestrian traffic can be expected to be heavy and where pedestrians may be preoccupied. Pedestrians in the airport environment may be preoccupied with travel plans and airline schedules and are often encumbered with bags, carts, strollers and children that inhibit mobility and add to the potential hazard pedestrians face from closing gate arms. SmartGate is an electronic non-contact safety system designed to provide an invisible field that moves with and precedes the gate arm. If the gate arm is coming down on a pedestrian, bicycle, motorcycle, car or other vehicle, the gate arm is signaled to stop and reverse to avoid or reduce injury and damage. A growing number of parking gate manufacturers recommend the SmartGate Safety System to their customers as a prudent risk management tool, particularly where pedestrian traffic can reasonably be expected According to Carl Parks, Invisa's chief operations officer, "Signs that warn pedestrians of the potential for serious injury or death are required to be posted on and around parking gates; however, signs alone have proven to be ineffective in protecting pedestrians. Access control equipment designed to open and close parking gates for vehicles can lull pedestrians into a false sense of protection because most currently installed access control systems do not recognize or protect pedestrians." Airports, including the following, are increasingly finding the SmartGate System to be an appropriate risk reduction tool: Hartsfield Atlanta International
Charlotte Douglas International
McCarren-Las Vegas
Dallas Love Field
Eugene, Ore.
Eastern Iowa Airport
Philadelphia International
Ronald Reagan Washington National
Denver International
Lambert-St. Louis
Norfolk, Va.
Billings, Mont.
Orlando International
Greater Rochester (N.Y.) International
Greater Toronto
According to Michael Hershberger, project manager for DGM Systems, parking gate integrator at the Billings, Mont., and Eugene, Ore., airports, "On the safety front, if SmartGate can help eliminate just one potential injury, and that person from hiring an attorney to bang on your door, the system more than pays for itself. SmartGate is especially appropriate for large airport parking environments that have to accommodate trailers, which are responsible for a disproportionate number of broken gate arms. This alone can save an operator hundreds of dollars replacing gate arms every month." Manufacturers seeking to join the OEM partner program should contact Carl Parks, Invisa Chief Operating Officer, via email at cparks@invisa.com or call 941-355-9361 ext. 124. "At Billings and Eugene airports, we have configured our software to use SmartGate to provide broken entry gate arm notification, which is extremely important in rural parking settings where the exit booth is removed from the entrance or out of view, allowing the operator to protect against theft of services and loss of revenue from long-term parkers taking advantage of the broken entry gate arm to make an illicit exit," Hershberger concluded. Steve Michael, Invisa's acting president, stated, "Personal injury litigation may be the single biggest risk associated with parking gates. We believe that owners and operators of powered parking gates are in the best position to know and mitigate the risk to pedestrians. In addition to airport parking lots, high-risk environments for parking gates include employee and customer parking lots, gated subdivisions, condominiums and apartments, municipal building parking facilities, entertainment venues, hotels and pay-parking facilities. The use of electronic non-contact safety equipment is most critical when it is known or reasonably anticipated that children may be in the area, pedestrians may walk near or under the parking gate and when parking gates are not fully supervised. The SmartGate Safety System is a sound risk management tool to reduce potential liability for most parking gate owners, including airports, and we are working to expand industry awareness and our penetration of this market." Invisa presence sensing solutions serve the electronic life safety and security markets. Invisa's proprietary InvisaShield™ technology is based upon capacitive sensing and is resistant to known methods of circumvention without employing infrared, laser, ultrasound or microwave radiation. InvisaShield can detect intruders who violate a sensing zone ranging from millimeters up to one meter. Invisa's SmartGate safety system generates an invisible protective field that moves with and precedes the potentially hazardous leading edge of powered gates, garage doors, sliding doors and other powered closures. For information about SmartGate products or the patented InvisaShield Technology visit www.invisa.com or call 941-355-9361. A video of SmartGate in action can be viewed at the company website. This Press Release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company has tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "potential" and similar expressions. These statements reflect the company's current beliefs and are based upon currently available information. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such statements. Factors which may cause such differences include the company's ability to meet planned delivery schedules, cancellation of orders, and other risks disclosed in the Company's SEC filings. The company undertakes no obligation to update or advise in the event of any change, addition or alteration to the information covered in this press release, including such forward-looking statements. Contact: Rich Schineller, 941-918-1913, rich@prmgt.com.