Updated November 2026. A boom barrier is the simplest way to control vehicles at a housing society gate, factory entry, office car park or campus. This guide covers boom length against lane width, opening speed, motor and duty cycle, boom type, safety devices and how vehicles are let through. Every boom barrier price shown here is the current catalogue price including 18% GST. Several barriers and readers are quote-only because the final price depends on the boom and options you choose.
Start with the lane: boom length vs lane width
Measure the clear width of the lane from the face of the barrier cabinet to the far kerb, wall or pillar. The boom has to cover that full opening, so pick a length equal to or slightly longer than your measurement. Do not buy a long boom just in case: a longer arm is heavier, catches more wind and moves more slowly.
The specifications show the trade-off clearly. The ZKTeco BGM500 series lists 1.5 seconds for its 3 m straight boom, 2.5 seconds for the 4.5 m telescopic boom and 5 seconds for the 6 m telescopic boom. The ZKTeco CMP200 lists 3 seconds up to 4.5 m and 6 seconds up to 6 m.
- Single car lane, about 3 m: a 3 m straight boom keeps the arm light and quick.
- Wide society or office gate, 4 to 4.5 m: a 4.5 m telescopic boom, or split the gate into separate entry and exit lanes.
- Truck gates and wide openings up to 6 m: a 6 m telescopic boom, accepting a slower cycle.
If one gate carries both entry and exit traffic, two barriers on two 3 m lanes usually move vehicles faster than a single 6 m boom.
Opening speed: how fast is fast enough?
Opening time is how long the boom takes to travel from closed to fully open. At a residential gate where a guard checks each car, 3 to 6 seconds is fine. At a paid car park or a factory shift change, every second adds to the queue, so a faster barrier pays for itself.
- MORX MB100 boom barrier (₹50,475): 1 to 6 seconds, 24V brushless motor with encoder, automatic obstacle detection, IP54, supplied with 2 remotes, a stand, mounting accessories and an anti-sunlight wired safety sensor.
- MORX MB200 (₹59,030): 1.25 to 6 seconds with the same motor and kit.
- ZKTeco BGM300 (₹49,638): 1.5 to 6 seconds, telescopic straight boom from 3 m to 6 m.
- ZKTeco BGM400 (₹67,756): 1.5 to 6 seconds, telescopic straight boom from 3 m to 6 m, IP54.
- ZKTeco BG2000 (quote only): 0.6 seconds with a boom up to 3 m.
- ZKTeco ProBG8000 (quote only): adjustable from 0.3 to 6 seconds, in 3 m, 4.5 m and 6 m versions.
Motor, duty cycle and MCBF
Nearly every barrier in our range uses a 24V DC brushless motor. Brushless motors run cooler and wear less than brushed motors, which matters on a gate that cycles all day.
Duty cycle is the share of time a motor can keep working without resting to cool down. A busy gate needs a barrier meant for continuous use. Few listings state duty cycle directly; the ZKTeco BGM100 is one that does, at 100% duty cycle with a 5 million cycle rating. Most listings instead give MCBF (mean cycles between failures), the number of open and close cycles the mechanism is designed for:
- ZKTeco BGM300, BGM400 and BG300: 2 million cycles.
- ZKTeco BGM500 and BGM1000: 3 million cycles.
- ZKTeco BG2000: 5 million cycles.
- Armatura AMTL-BGM1000: 7 million cycles, with a servo planetary reduction motor.
- ZKTeco ProBG8000: 10 million cycles, with a brushless servo motor.
To size this, estimate your daily vehicle movements. A society gate with 600 movements a day runs about 2,19,000 cycles a year, so a 2 million cycle barrier covers roughly nine years at that rate. A mall or hospital car park with 3,000 movements a day runs nearly 11 million cycles in ten years, which is where a 5, 7 or 10 million cycle mechanism earns its higher price.
Boom types: straight, telescopic, folding and fence
Straight boom
A single rigid arm. It is the lightest and fastest option for lanes up to about 3 m. The BGM500 and BGM1000 series also offer a 4.5 m straight boom with LED lights, which makes the arm easy to see at night.
Telescopic boom
A two-section arm for 4.5 m and 6 m lanes. The BGM300, BGM400, CMP200 and BG300 all use telescopic straight booms.
Folding boom
A hinged arm that folds as it rises, for basement car parks and gates under a slab or canopy where a straight arm would hit the ceiling. The BGM500 series offers a 4.5 m folding version at 3 seconds, and the BGM1000 series has one too.
Fence boom
An arm with hanging bars below it, so two-wheelers and pedestrians cannot duck under the boom. The ZKTeco BGM500 boom barrier series includes a 4.5 m fence version at 3 seconds. Folding and fence variants are quote-only, so send your lane width and headroom with the request.
Safety: loop detectors, photocells and radar
A boom coming down on a car, a two-wheeler or a child is the main risk. Add at least one presence detector on top of the barrier’s own obstacle detection.
Loop detector
A wire loop is cut into the road under the boom. The detector senses the metal of a vehicle above it, holds the boom open while the vehicle is there and can close it once the vehicle has passed. The MORX loop detector is a single-channel unit with a 20 to 1500 uH sensing range and 50 ms reaction time (quote only). Plan the loop before the final road surface is laid.
Photocells
An infrared beam across the lane. If anything breaks the beam, the boom does not close. The Nice EPS slim pair is ₹6,587 and the Nice EPM pair is ₹6,930. Before ordering, confirm that your barrier’s controller has a safety input that matches the photocell’s output.
Radar sensor
Radar detects vehicles and people without cutting the road, which suits finished driveways. The ZKTeco VR30 Barrier Radar Sensor (₹12,162) works at 79 GHz with a maximum detection distance of 7 m. The VR10 Pro (quote only) covers 1 m to 6 m, is rated IP67 and offers relay and RS485 outputs.
How vehicles trigger the barrier
Remote control
Most barriers list a remote. The MB100 and MB200 include 2 remotes, most ZKTeco models list up to 30 m range and the ProBG8000 lists up to 50 m. Remotes suit small societies where a guard opens the gate.
Card reader
The driver stops and taps a card on a reader at window height. Cheap per user, but every vehicle has to stop.
UHF long-range tags
A tag on the windscreen is read from several metres away, so residents and staff drive through without stopping. Reader options include the MORX RFG-CR06 (₹17,024 up to 6 m), RFG-CR15 (₹23,997 up to 15 m) and MORX RFG-CR32 long-range reader (₹30,362 up to 18 m), which is listed for direct connection to a boom barrier. Read range depends on the tag. MORX ALN9654 windshield paper tags cost ₹27 each and MORX tamper-proof windshield tags ₹60 each, with an 8 to 10 m read range inside the windscreen. Do not set the range longer than the lane needs, or the reader may open the boom for a car waiting in the next lane.
ANPR camera
A number plate camera needs no tags at all. The ZKTeco LRM300 ANPR camera (₹86,519) reads vehicles at up to 10 km/h from 3 to 10 m (3 to 5 m recommended) and stores 1,000 allowlist, 1,000 blocklist and 8,000 monthly parking entries. Supported plate regions differ between models and are listed on each product page, so check them before choosing a camera. The LPRS1000 is quote only. Keep a remote or card as a fallback for dirty or non-standard plates.
Quick picks by site
| Site | Suggested setup |
|---|---|
| Housing society gate | 3 m to 4.5 m boom, UHF windshield tags for residents, remote for the guard, loop detector or photocells |
| Office car park | 3 m straight boom, UHF tags or card reader, photocells |
| Factory truck gate | 6 m telescopic boom, high MCBF, radar or loop detector |
| Basement car park | Folding boom, radar sensor |
| Paid or visitor parking | Fast straight boom, ANPR camera, loop detector |
Where to go next
Compare models in our boom barriers category, then add safety devices from sensors and safety devices. For hands-free entry, see long-range UHF vehicle access and ANPR and LPR cameras. If the main gate also needs automation, read our sliding and swing gate motor guide. For quote-only models, several lanes or bulk tag orders, request a project quote with your lane widths and daily traffic.