Durable handheld readers are ideal for certain use cases on campus such as event admission, attendance tracking, emergency mustering, and handheld ID verification. In these use cases, a mounted reader often will not suffice, and a phone or tablet-based device may be too fragile.

Rugged portable readers have long been used to read campus cards – from mag stripe to prox to contactless – but the onset of mobile credentials adds a new wrinkle. In instances where photo verification is required, the headshot on the card is no longer available.

Security personnel can visually inspect cards, but they need a way to validate mobile credentials and compare the photo to individual. The ability to check data in the access control system in real-time is even more important today.

Many campus implementations are phased so both legacy cards and new mobile credentials are used in parallel. Security personnel can still visually inspect the cards as before, but they need a way to validate mobile credentials and compare the photo to individual. The ability to check data in the access control system in real-time becomes even more important with mobile credentials.

To address these challenges, reader manufacturer Telaeris added support for HID Mobile Access solutions to its XPressEntry line of handheld badge readers. This supports both the HID employee badge and Student ID in Apple Wallet offerings.

XPressEntry devices also support the range of traditional HID credential offerings including HID Prox, iClass, and SEOS. They also support other technologies, including DESFire, Mifare, Felica, Legic, Allegion, and more.

The addition of HID Mobile Access expands an institution’s ability to use both cards and mobile credentials in key applications such as:

• Handheld badge verification to control access to and manage secured space with entry/exit tracking
• Emergency evacuation mustering to ensure everyone is accounted for during an emergency and improve evacuations
• Events attendance tracking to manage attendees and grant or deny access using cards and mobile credentials
• Handheld biometric verification to increase security with biometrics and multi-factor authentication in high security areas
• Health check surveys to pre-screen individuals and deny access when necessary to help prevent the spread of illness
• Other campus use cases including time and attendance, transit validation, visitor management, parking, and more.

“The Telaeris handheld badge readers with HID credential support, including Student ID in Apple Wallet, is a game changer in the handheld verification market,” says Rick Winter, Sr. Manager & Embedded Mobile BDM of Extended Access Technologies at HID. “Its real-time image verification and access control integration provides a university with enhanced security plus the convenience to manage emergency evacuation mustering and events attendance tracking.”

According to Winter, this functionality has become an everyday request from higher ed administrators.