Elevator and building access, decided locally
AXON is a family of controllers, readers and bus modules that grant or deny access on the board itself. Cards are MIFARE DESFire EV3 with mutual authentication, every bus link is encrypted, and the cloud only syncs the database, collects logs and delivers firmware. Managed from the AXON web dashboard and mobile app.
Built for buildings, not for demos
Four design decisions that shape every board in the range. They are the reasons an integrator can specify AXON for a riser or a lobby and know how it will behave on a bad day.
The decision is made on the wall
Each master holds the full card database in its own flash and answers a tap locally — the AXON Master targets under 2 ms, the cabin unit does the same inside the lift. Internet loss degrades reporting, not access. When the link returns, logs and database changes catch up over MQTT.
Encrypted bus, DESFire EV3 cards
The reader makes the card prove an AES-128 key derived from its UID before it reports anything; a UID on its own never opens a door. Reader-to-master frames on RS-485 and node-to-master frames on CAN are encrypted, authenticated and replay-counted.
One backbone, cabin and building
The same reader firmware sits in the elevator cabin and at every landing. A cabin master drives the floor buttons; a building master and per-floor nodes cover entrances, garages and doors on a 250 kbit/s CAN bus. One card, one dashboard, one wiring discipline.
Designed and built in Kosovo
Every board is engineered and assembled by our own team in Prishtinë, and the technical documentation is public — pinouts, bus parameters, encryption model, and what is shipping versus what is still on the roadmap. Support comes from the people who wrote the firmware.
Controllers, readers and bus modules
The six boards most projects start with. Friendly product names carry the engineering SKU so integrators and procurement speak the same language; the full range includes LoRa, elevator-controller and I/O boards.
AXON Master
CAN-bus access master with on-board card database. External access master for landings, entrances and doors. It holds the full card database on board, decides locally in a target under 2 ms without the cloud, and talks to per-floor nodes over two independent 250 kbit/s CAN buses.
View AXON ICM-GE
AXON Smart Access
Cabin master with 32 relay outputs and an offline decision. The master controller inside the elevator cabin. It reads encrypted card events from the in-cabin reader, decides locally which floors are allowed and pulses one relay per floor button — with no server in the critical path.
View AXON CCU-32
AXON Node
Per-floor RS-485 to CAN bridge that never decides alone. Per-floor bridge between the landing reader and the AXON Master: it takes the reader's authenticated card event over RS-485, forwards it on the encrypted CAN backbone, and pulses two relays only when the master says so.
View AXON Node
AXON Reader
DESFire EV3 reader with an authenticated RS-485 link. A 13.56 MHz DESFire EV3 reader that makes the card prove its key with AES-128 before it reports anything, then hands the event to the AXON master over an encrypted RS-485 link. One board, one firmware — in the cabin or at every landing.
View AXON URX-Secure
AXON RS485 Module
Wiegand 26/34 reader onto the AXON RS-485 bus. A small board that sits behind an existing Wiegand 26/34 reader and forwards each credential as an addressed message on the AXON RS-485 bus. It exists so a retrofit can keep working readers and replace only the panel and the wiring.
View AXON AMS (W2R-N)
AXON Relay
Two isolated relays on the RS-485 bus, next to the load. A compact RS-485 bus node with two independent industrial relays. It puts the switching contact within a metre of the door, gate or light it controls, so one twisted pair replaces a building's worth of load wiring back to the panel.
View AXON RBN-2How an access event works
The sequence is the same whether the reader is in a lift cabin or on a landing. Nothing in it waits for a server.
The card proves its key
The AXON Reader selects the AXON application on the DESFire EV3 card and runs an AES-128 mutual authentication with a key diversified from the card's UID. Cards that fail, or plain UID-only cards, are not reported as credentials.
The event travels encrypted
The reader sends the event to its master over RS-485 in an AES-CTR encrypted, CMAC-authenticated frame with a monotonic counter. On a landing the AXON Node forwards it on the CAN backbone under its own per-node key.
The master decides locally
The AXON Master looks the UID up in its on-board database — permission masks, validity dates, flags — and returns a verdict; the cabin unit does the same for the lift. No cloud round-trip, so a network outage changes nothing here.
A relay pulses, the log syncs
The node pulses its relay only on the master's command; the cabin unit pulses the relay for the requested floor button. The event is written to the local log and pushed to the AXON platform over MQTT/TLS when a link is available.
One platform for the whole building
Elevators, entrances, garages and doors on the same hardware family — sized to your riser, your entrances and your site. Each guide below explains the topology, the boards involved and the trade-offs.
Elevator access control
Per-floor authorisation from inside the cabin: the AXON Reader authenticates the card, the CCU-32 checks the floor mask and pulses one relay per allowed call button — 32 outputs, 48 or 64 to order. Works with the existing elevator controller through its button matrix.
How it worksMulti-entrance buildings
Main door, garage, side entrances and floor doors on one AXON Master and up to 63 nodes per CAN port, two ports per master. Nodes are DIP-addressed and sit next to the door they control, so the backbone stays a single twisted pair through the riser.
Plan the topologyAnti-cloning RFID
Why a MIFARE Classic or UID-only badge can be copied in seconds, and how DESFire EV3 mutual authentication with per-card diversified keys closes that surface. What changes for the reader, the cards and the migration of an existing site.
Read the guideSmart building access
Every access event is logged locally and synchronised to the AXON platform over MQTT/TLS. Manage credentials, floors and validity from the web dashboard; tenants activate access and pay through the app. Multi-building, multi-entrance, one account.
See the architectureRFID access control system
Doors, gates, ramps and barriers with encrypted readers, relay nodes and a master that decides offline. Covers reader placement, relay boards near the load, IP65 options for outdoor points and how legacy Wiegand readers join the bus through the AMS converter.
Explore the systemServices and commissioning
Site survey, backbone sizing, card encoding, installation support and commissioning from the team that built the boards. Firmware updates over the air after hand-over, and support from Prishtinë for Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia and B2B partners in Europe.
What we doWritten from the firmware, not the brochure
Engineering deep-dives for integrators, electricians and procurement — bus parameters, encryption model, failure modes and what is shipping versus roadmap. Start with these four.
AXON ICM-GE — the building access master
How the external master holds the card database on board, decides offline and drives per-floor nodes over two encrypted 250 kbit/s CAN buses, with Ethernet and LTE to the cloud.
Read Cabin controller · 32 relays · elevator integrationAXON CCU-32 — the cabin control unit
The master inside the elevator: 32 relay outputs to the call buttons, an encrypted RS-485 reader link, Ethernet with cellular fallback and a decision that never leaves the cabin.
Read Reader · DESFire EV3 · RS-485 secure layerAXON URX-Secure — the encrypted reader
A DESFire EV3 reader that authenticates the card with AES-128 before it reports, then talks to its master over an encrypt-then-MAC RS-485 link. One firmware for cabin and landings.
Read Guide · card security · migrationDESFire EV3 vs MIFARE Classic
An honest comparison of the two card families for building access: threat model, what cloning actually costs, and how to migrate a site that already carries Classic cards.
ReadBefore you specify AXON
Does the system keep working when the internet is down?
Can someone open a door with a cloned card?
Can I keep the readers already installed in my building?
How are elevator floor permissions handled?
Where do you deliver and how do I get a price?
Ready to specify AXON for your site?
Tell us the floors, entrances and readers and we will size the CAN backbone, the cabin unit and the reader configuration for your building. Call +383 48 296 722 or write to info@axon-access.com — Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00.