Open Sesame Model 133 Automatic Door Opening System


woman in powerchair moving towards open front door with automatic door opener
Open Sesame’s Model 133 residential door opener allows wheelchair
users like Anna Pannell to open doors using voice control.

A college student by day and DJ and songwriter by night, Anna Pannell doesn’t have time for unexpected obstacles like doors she can’t open. That’s why Pannell, a C1-2 quadriplegic, installed Open Sesame’s Model 133 automatic door opening system on two doors in her home, allowing her to open them with her voice.

“I don’t have to have anybody open the door for me — I can just do it myself without asking. I can open the door for my family,” she says.

I met with Pannell at her home in Ypsilanti, Michigan, to check out the voice-activated Open Sesame door opening system. She has one installed on her front door and one on a door that leads from her bedroom outside.

Specs and Tech

The Model 133 is the residential version of Open Sesame’s automatic door opener line. It is a relatively small piece of hardware measuring just over 14 inches wide and 4 inches tall and weighing 10 pounds. The Model 133 comes standard with a remote control that you can hold or mount to a wheelchair, an electric door strike that automatically unlatches the door, a low-voltage wiring kit and a backup battery system to ensure operation of the door opener when the power goes out.

Open Sesame Door Opener unit shown installed at top of door

Open Sesame offers many accessories to allow users of varying abilities to open doors independently. Pannell uses Open Sesame’s new wireless Voice Interface, which is compatible with Amazon Alexa, for her setup. The Voice Interface is a small device that plugs into a power outlet near the door with the Open Sesame system installed and transmits voice commands, commands from the Alexa app and commands from eye-gaze programs.

Pannell has an Amazon Echo Dot connected to her power chair battery and mounted on her armrest that allows her to open doors from inside or outside her house as long as she has a solid Wi-Fi connection. All she has to do is say, “Hey Alexa, front door power on.” The door is programmed to respond to this command by opening and staying open for 60 seconds before closing automatically. The time the door remains open is customizable, and the Open Sesame can detect obstructions and stop the door from closing if it meets resistance. Pannell has found the opener to be reliable — more so than Alexa. “Sometimes [Alexa] can be stubborn. You have to repeat yourself a thousand times for it to recognize what you are saying.”

You can install the Open Sesame door opening system on both inward and outward opening doors, as well as specialty doors like French doors and storm doors. Problems can arise if there is not enough room above the door, if the door frame is too deep to accommodate the arm that opens the door, or if the door is mostly made of glass. For these reasons, it is important to have any doors in question professionally evaluated before purchasing the system. Installation takes about two and a half hours and involves electrical work, so hiring a professional is recommended.

My Take

man standing next to young woman in powerchair, both smiling for the camera

After seeing the Open Sesame in action, I would recommend it to anybody looking for an automatic door opener, whether they need voice activation or not. I am in the planning stages of building a new house, and I intend to use the Open Sesame system on my doors. The hardware is much smaller and looks better than the door openers currently in my house. The opener responded quickly to Alexa’s voice commands and the Alexa app. The only glitches I observed involved Alexa not hearing or misunderstanding a voice command, but anyone who uses Alexa knows this is a common problem.

For those concerned about the security of having a voice-activated door opener, the Open Sesame system works well with the smart deadbolt products available on the market. A smart deadbolt requires anyone attempting to open the door to know a code to unlock it, adding another layer of protection for those concerned that someone could learn the voice command to unlock the door.

The Open Sesame Model 133 retails for around $2,400, plus an additional $175 for the Voice Interface module. Professional installation varies by installer, but it cost Pannell $300 from Assistive Technology of Michigan. Some insurances that pay for home modifications may cover the cost of the Open Sesame System. Veterans Affairs insurance has covered the cost for injured veterans. For Michigan residents injured in automobile accidents, the no-fault insurance system covers the cost of Open Sesame. Grants are also available through many organizations to help cover the cost of purchasing and installing the system. For more information, visit opensesamedoor.com.


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D Calvin
D Calvin
1 year ago

I enjoyed the article very much, and appreciated all the detail.

I did want to mention for those with a smaller budget who don’t need the eye gaze feature, we have been very happy with an automatic door opener from Olide Autodoor that we purchased at Amazon for about $700 including two handheld remotes, two wallmount push buttons, and the WiFi unit so it would work with Alexa. A local contractor took about two hours to install and calibrate it. No electrical work was required because it just plugs in. As you suggest in the article, we also added a smart deadbolt for greater security.

There are a lot of different Olide models with different control options, and even some different WiFi models, so you do have to do some research to find which will work best for you.

Olide is a Chinese company that has been making commercial door and window openers for 20 years. They began offering residential units for DIY projects about 5 years ago. The installation guide has the typical Chinese to English challenges, but the support office in the US is staffed by English speakers and was very helpful, including sending videos that cleared up some of the questions we had from the paper instructions.

I’m sure the Open Sesame is a better model with more features at a better size. But it’s outside my budget, and we were able to find a much less expensive solution with Alexa voice control which has worked well for us. So I just thought some other people in similar circumstances might be interested in knowing that also exists.

Charlie Rebich
1 year ago

Thank you for this great article and review. We take a lot of pride in our US made product and that we have been helping provide freedom and independence with our reliable automatic door systems for 30 years! Our systems usually last 15 – 20 years in the field and we have US customer service if you have any questions or needs. We’re also here to answer any questions if you would like to give us a call (800) 673-6911.
Thank you,
Charlie
Open Sesame Door Systems