Table of Contents
Nowhere Gate Scanners
History
In the early days of Nowhere, gate would check peoples names off a paper list. In (roughly) 2012 this proved to be a problem, as the list had grown to several pages which would get lost or destroyed. A project was proposed to switch to ticket barcode scanning.
Issues
Over the years there have been various issues which have been overcome, including overheating, unreliable power (gate sits a far way from the Norg power grid), spotty internet connections and dead wifi gear.
Current
A new system was trialed in 2023 using tablets and inbuilt camera barcode scanner. This worked well and will be built on for future years.
Method
When a ticket barcode is scanned, it is checked for:
- Valid ticket
- Early Entry date
- Non-standard ticket type - eg child or art donation
The scanner page will respond with the name and ID number of the ticket holder. This info is checked against the ID document of the ticket holder, and if correct, the ticket is scanned a second time to check the person into the event.
Technical details
The scanner relies on JavaScript to read the barcode in and uses Ajax to make an API call to the Early Entry system. The Early Entry system is a python cherrypy docker instance running on one of the Euroburners servers. The EE system verifies the ticket is within EE date and retrieves ticket information from Quicket. Once the ID is verified, the second scan is submitted back to the EE instance to be checked in on the Quicket system.
