RFID Tagging & Capture

Every asset carries a passive UHF RFID tag encoding a unique EPC (the tag's id). Readers capture these EPCs; AssetBase matches them to the register.

Tagging an Asset (Commissioning)

From an asset's record, click Print tag. AssetBase does the rest:

• Mints a unique EPC for the asset (you never type one) and saves it to the record.
• Encodes and prints the tag in one pass — the EPC is written into the tag's RFID chip and the label is printed with the asset's details and a QR code.
• You affix the printed tag. For metal machines and IT chassis, use on-metal / rugged tags — plain paper tags read poorly on metal.

Each EPC is unique per organization, so a tag can't be commissioned to two assets. The asset's Tag status moves to Printed.

Printing & Encoding Tags

AssetBase drives the label printer directly: it generates the printer instructions (ZPL) that both encode the RFID chip and print the label face — you don't design the label per asset.

On the label face: the asset name, its asset tag (your ERP / business code), the serial number, the EPC, and a QR code of the asset tag — a camera fallback for when an RFID reader isn't handy.

Getting the label to the printer

• Browser Print — if the Zebra Browser Print agent is installed on the operator's machine, Print tag sends the label straight to the printer.
• Download — otherwise the label file (.zpl) downloads, ready to send to the printer.
• Reprint — printing again from a tagged asset reuses its existing EPC (it never re-mints), so a replacement label carries the same tag identity.

A copy of the tag that was affixed can be kept on the asset as an attachment, tagged RFID-tag or QR-tag so you can always see exactly what was printed.

Tag Generator — Label First, Fill In Later

The Tag Generator is the inverse of scanning: instead of scanning a tag to find an asset, you produce a tag for an asset — before or as you enroll it. It's available on both the web app (Tag generator in the menu) and the mobile app (Generate tag).

You:

• Choose QR or RFID.
• Enter the asset code (your ERP / business code) and a few basic fields (name, category, manufacturer, model, serial, location).
• Press Generate.

What happens next depends on whether the code already exists:

• New code — AssetBase creates the asset in the register with the fields you entered and mints its tag (a QR of the code, or a minted RFID EPC).
• Existing code — AssetBase reprints the same tag; the register fields are left untouched. For RFID, the existing EPC is preserved — replacing it (encoding a brand-new tag over the old one) is a separate, explicitly confirmed action, so you never retire a live tag by accident.

The generated tag image is stored on the asset as a QR-tag / RFID-tag attachment, and you can Print it straight away. Then affix it and scan it to confirm the loop is closed.

Why this helps at commissioning: for a large first-time roll-out you can label assets in bulk from just their codes — generate, print, and affix — then walk the floor scanning each tag to populate the remaining details, rather than typing full records up front.

Choosing a Capture Method — RFID or QR

AssetBase supports two ways to tag and capture assets. The software is identical — same register, custody, custom fields, audits and reports; only the tag and the capture device differ. You can even mix them (RFID on high-value or moving assets, QR on the rest).

Rule of thumb: if assets don't move and you count them once or twice a year on a budget, QR + a phone is the right fit — no RFID printer or reader needed. If you need fast repeat sweeps, hidden/stacked reads, or automatic movement detection, choose RFID.

Reader Hardware — and What Feeds the Server

RFID readers come in three families. What differs is what runs the software that sends reads to AssetBase — the reader radio itself never speaks to the server directly; something on or beside it does.

Is there a Zebra handheld that feeds the server directly? Yes — the Zebra MC3390R is an integrated Android RFID gun: it runs the AssetBase handheld app on the scanner itself and sends reads straight to the server, so it is a single device with no separate phone. (The RFD40 is a sled and always needs a host phone/computer.) For a reader that sends to the server with no app at all, that is the fixed-reader family (FX9600 / Impinj R700) — used at gates and portals rather than walk-around audits.

The capture app is optional — the API is the contract

AssetBase's ingestion boundary is its API endpoint (/scans/batch), not any one app. Any capture client that can read tags and reach the API works, so a tenant that does not deploy the mobile app still has real capture paths:

• the AssetBase handheld app (on a phone, or on an integrated Android handheld like the MC3390R);
• a fixed-reader gateway at a gate — headless, no app;
• a desktop capture agent — a reader plugged into a PC;
• direct vendor middleware posting to the endpoint.

The mobile app is one option, not a requirement. Fixed readers — the hardware behind the movement-detection at gates capability — inherently have no phone and post to the server on their own.

How Reads Reach AssetBase

Whatever the capture client, reads never touch the register directly. They land first in a staging area (scan_interface):

Any reader/client ─▶ POST /scans/batch ─▶ scan_interface (staging, append-only) ─▶ [sync job] ─▶ Register

A background sync job (runs on a schedule, and can be triggered manually) validates each staged read and promotes it: it updates the matching asset's last-seen time and location, applies condition changes (e.g. a "repair" event sets under repair), and — during an audit — records what was seen.

Staged reads are kept after processing — they are your immutable evidence trail.

Reliability

• Duplicate reads (a tag is read many times per second) are collapsed to one per asset before syncing.
• Idempotent for any client — every read carries a stable id, and the server accepts each id once. A re-sent batch or a reconnect can never create duplicates or lose reads, whether the client is the handheld app, a gate gateway, or a desktop agent.
• Offline-durable capture — the handheld app records a sweep to on-device storage as it captures, so a sweep survives loss of signal and even an app restart, then uploads (in chunks) when the connection returns. Large sweeps are sent in batches rather than one huge upload.

A Note on Regions

UHF RFID is regulated by region: the US uses 902–928 MHz (FCC); Nigeria/EU use 865–868 MHz (ETSI). Readers and tags must match the deployment region. Development hardware bought in the US works for building the software, but production hardware must be the ETSI/EU-region variant.