I have recently had an electric gate fitted on my driveway. It operates with rolling RF codes which is a pain as you have to find and press the rf fob to open it. Also I only have two fobs so family members have to ring to open the gate.
I have been reading about using BLE as a trigger to trigger the relay I have connected to the gate controller, possibly using the Bermuda BLE Trilateration add in. I am assuming I can use either BLE beacons which are reasonably cheap so can give one to each family member to put in their cars or even better use their mobile phone Bluetooth signal as a trigger.
However before going down that route I wanted to ask others who may have implemented Bermuda any pitfalls for example:
- All family members have iPhones and I believe Apple Bluetooth may randomly change its mac address so might not be reliable?
- Cars approaching the gate have to pass very close to my home external wall. I was considering putting an ESP32 in a waterproof box on the outside wall at car window level. From experience will Bluetooth penetrate the interior of the car passing at relatively high speeds e.g. 20mph or will the source pass too quickly.
- If a moving car does not provide a long enough signal contact, I can relocate the ESP32 or put a second ESP32 inside my front porch which is immediately adjacent the gate, at which point the car will be stationery.
- Is the signal from a beacon higher than a mobile phone and which would be more reliable?
Anything else I haven’t thought of? I would appreciate users views on the above scenario to confirm or otherwise its suitability.
I don’t want to install apps (e.g. HA Life 360) or change the settings on Family member phones
Many thanks