Inventory Tracking

The Inventory Tracking feature lets you manage your drone fleet end-to-end — from packing drones into physical cases before a show, through shipping and receiving them back afterward. Navigate to Fleet > Inventory Tracking in the Verge Aero Portal to access this feature.

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Part 1: Tools and Labeling

Before drones and cases can be tracked in the Portal, they need physical QR code labels printed and applied. This section covers everything you need to get labels made and a scanner connected.

Tools Required

Tool	Purpose
Brother P-Touch 900W	Label printer
P-Touch Editor 6	Label design software (runs on the computer connected to the printer)
24mm / 0.94" laminated label tape cassette	Label media for the P-Touch 900W
Eyoyo scanner (or compatible USB barcode scanner)	Scanning labels into the Portal
CSV file	Your drone UID / FAA number data set — downloadable from Fleet > My Fleets in the Portal

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Drone Labels

Prepare the Data Set

1. Download your drone UID / FAA data set as a CSV from the Portal: navigate to Fleet > My Fleets, select your fleet, and use the CSV download option. This file contains the drone and battery UIDs and FAA registration numbers you will use to generate labels.

2. Copy the CSV file to the computer running P-Touch Editor 6.

Set Up the Brother P-Touch 900W

1. Connect the power cable to the printer.

2. Connect to your computer via USB or wirelessly. If you are using more than one printer simultaneously, USB is recommended to prevent connection conflicts.

3. Install the Brother P-Touch 900W drivers and P-Touch Editor 6 if not already installed.

4. Insert a 24mm / 0.94" laminated label tape cassette into the printer.

Design the Label in P-Touch Editor 6

Label template files (.lbx) for X1 drone labels and case labels are available for download from the Getting Started tab in the Portal under Fleet > Inventory Tracking. You can open these directly in P-Touch Editor 6 and skip to the Link the Data Set step.

1. Open P-Touch Editor 6 and create a new label.

2. Set the overall length of the label.

3. Create Text Box 1 and enter a placeholder appropriate for your UID format:

   • X1 drone — 4-digit integer UID → use placeholder XXXX

   • X7 drone — 10-character alphanumeric UID structured as {2-char factory code}{2-char product code}{6-char UID} (e.g. P8DR4T3U96, where DR denotes a drone and BA denotes a battery) → use placeholder XXXX567890

   • FAA number → use placeholder FAA4567890

4. Select the Barcode button to add a QR code element to the label.

   • In the side panel under Protocol, select Change.

   • Scroll down, select QR Code / Micro QR Code, and select OK.

   • Under Data in the side panel, enter the same placeholder you used in Text Box 1.

The placeholder in the QR code data field must match the one in the text box — both will be replaced with real data when you link the database in the next step.

Label layout with text placeholder and QR code

Selecting QR Code / Micro QR Code as the barcode protocol

Link the Data Set

1. Select the Database button and select Open.

2. Select Browse, locate your CSV file, and select Open.

3. If your CSV has no header row, uncheck Header Rows Contains Field Names.

4. Select OK.

5. Click and drag the header of your UID column onto the text box on the label.

6. Repeat, dragging the same column header onto the QR code element.

7. Both objects are now linked — each row in your CSV will produce a unique label.

Linking a CSV column to the QR code element

Print

1. Select the Print button from the menu.

2. Choose Selected Records, a Range, or All Records depending on your batch.

3. Disable Auto Cut.

4. Enable Half Cut.

5. Enable Chain Print.

6. Select the blue Print button.

7. When printing finishes, press the scissors button on the Brother P-Touch 900W to cut the label strip.

Apply Labels to Drones

X1 drones: Apply one label to the bottom of the drone above the diffuser, and an identical label to the top of the drone.

X7 drones: Apply the label to the inside of the arm adjacent to the battery port. This position allows the X7 to be scanned while seated in its case.

X1 label placement — bottom, above the diffuser

X1 label placement — top of drone body

X7 label placement — inside of arm, adjacent to battery port

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Case Labels

Cases use the naming format C1-001, C1-002, etc. — the C1- prefix is required for the Portal to recognize a scan as a case rather than a drone. The physical label only needs to show the case number for readability; the full C1- prefixed ID is encoded in the QR code.

Prepare the Case Data Set

1. Open a spreadsheet application (Google Sheets or Excel).

2. In Column B, enter 001 in cell B1, then drag-and-fill downward for as many cases as you need. Format the column to always show 3 digits (001, 002, 003, …).

3. In Column A, enter C1- in cell A1, then drag-and-fill downward to match Column B.

4. In cell C1, enter the formula =JOIN("",A1,B1). Drag-and-fill Column C to match. This produces the complete case IDs: C1-001, C1-002, C1-003, …

5. Export/download the spreadsheet as a CSV file and copy it to the computer running P-Touch Editor 6.

Design the Case Label in P-Touch Editor 6

1. Open P-Touch Editor 6 and create a new label.

2. Set the overall length of the label.

3. Create Text Box 1 and enter the placeholder C1-XXX.

4. Select the Barcode button.

   • Under Protocol, select Change.

   • Select QR Code / Micro QR Code and select OK.

   • Under Data, enter the placeholder C1-XXX.

Link the Case Data Set

1. Select the Database button and select Open.

2. Select Browse, locate your case CSV file, and select Open.

3. Uncheck Header Rows Contains Field Names (since the spreadsheet has no headers).

4. Select OK.

5. Click and drag the header of Column C onto the text box on the label.

6. Drag the same Column C header onto the QR code element.

7. Both objects are now linked to the full case ID (e.g., C1-001).

Example case label — the physical label shows the case number; the QR code encodes the full ID including the C1- prefix used by the Portal

Print Case Labels

Follow the same print settings as for drone labels:

1. Select Print from the menu.

2. Choose the records to print.

3. Disable Auto Cut → Enable Half Cut → Enable Chain Print.

4. Select the blue Print button.

5. Press the scissors button on the printer when complete.

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Scanner Setup

Before scanning labels into the Portal, configure your scanner:

1. Connect the Eyoyo scanner (or compatible USB barcode scanner) to the device running the Verge Aero Portal via USB or wirelessly.

2. Using the setup page in the scanner's user manual, configure it to read QR codes.

3. Configure the scanner to append a Tab keystroke after each scanned value — this is what submits the scan in the Portal's input field without requiring a manual key press.

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Part 2: Portal Workflow

This section covers how to use the Portal to move drones through the full show lifecycle — from packing and shipping to receiving them back.

Key Concepts

Cases

Cases in the Portal correspond directly to your physical Verge cases. When you create a case in the Portal, you're creating a record that mirrors a labeled physical case in your warehouse. Each case has a type that reflects its physical counterpart:

Case Type	Drone Family	Capacity
Original Metal	X1	5 drones
Original Plastic	X1	5 drones
Refurbished Plastic	X1	5 drones
SKB Plastic	X1	5 drones
Refurbished Metal	X1	5 drones
Flight Crate	X1 or X7	Unlimited
Plastic	X7	10 drones

If you need added flexibility — for example, when packing a large batch or a mixed configuration — the Flight Crate case type is available for both X1 and X7 and has no drone capacity limit.

X1 and X7 drones cannot be mixed into the same case. The Portal will prevent this when scanning.

Palettes

Palettes are the shipping containers that hold your cases. Think of them as a way to group cases together for a particular shipment — they don't correspond to any one specific physical container, but rather represent a logical grouping for tracking purposes. Palettes can be freely created, filled, emptied, and deleted as your operational needs change.

Palette types (SKB and Flight Crate) are available to help you categorize your shipments, though the type doesn't enforce any capacity restriction at the palette level.

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Step 1: Create Cases

Navigate to Fleet > Inventory Tracking and use the Create Case button to create a record for each physical case you've labeled. Make sure the name you enter matches the label exactly (e.g., C1-001).

Choose the appropriate case type for each physical case. The Portal will enforce capacity limits when you scan drones in — if a case is full, the scan will be rejected.

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Step 2: Scan Drones Into Cases

Once your cases exist in the Portal, use the scanner to pack drones into them.

1. Select Open Camera to activate the scanner input panel.

2. Set the mode toggle to Pack.

3. Confirm the scanner input is in Input Mode — the focus indicator should be green with a blinking cursor. If it turns red, click inside the input box to refocus it.

4. Scan a case QR code. The Portal will select and expand that case automatically.

5. Scan each drone QR code that belongs in that case. Each drone is added immediately.

6. Scan the next case label to switch to a new case, then scan its drones.

7. Repeat until all cases are packed, then select Close Camera.

Scanner input in Pack mode — green indicator confirms the input field is focused

The C1- prefix in case QR codes is how the Portal distinguishes a case scan from a drone scan. Never use C1- as a prefix in drone UID labels.

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Step 3: Create Palettes and Add Cases

With your cases packed, group them into palettes for shipping.

1. Select Create Palette and give it a name and type.

2. On the Palettes tab, find your new palette and select the + (Add Cases) button.

3. Scan each case QR code or select cases from the dropdown to add them to the palette.

4. Repeat for as many palettes as your shipment requires.

Cases and palettes must be in Unallocated status to have cases or drones added to or removed from them. Once a palette is allocated to a show, its contents are locked until the show workflow is completed or the allocation is reversed.

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Step 4: Allocate Palettes to a Show

On the Shows tab, find your upcoming show and select Allocate Palettes. Choose the palettes you're sending and provide an allocation description and notes. The Portal will record how many drones are being allocated.

Deallocating a show is destructive — it removes all allocation history events for those palettes, not just the association. Only deallocate if you genuinely need to start over.

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Step 5: Mark as Shipped

Once the palettes are physically on their way, select Mark Shipped on the show. You'll be prompted to enter a shipment tracking link and notes. This moves the show and all its palettes and cases into Shipped status.

When the shipment arrives at the show site, select Mark Delivered to advance the status.

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Step 6: Fly the Show

Once delivered and the show has been performed, the drones are ready to be returned.

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Step 7: Receive Drones Back

When cases and drones return from a show, use the Portal to receive them back into inventory.

1. Select Mark Receive In Progress on the show to signal that the return process has started.

2. Open the scanner and switch the mode toggle to Receive.

3. Scan each returning case. The Portal selects that case as the active case for receiving.

4. Scan each returning drone. The Portal records it as received and removes it from the show allocation. If a drone is damaged, you can flag it during this step.

5. Continue scanning until all returned cases and drones are accounted for.

6. When you're done, select Mark Receive Completed on the show.

Marking receive completed is final. Any drones that have not been scanned back in at that point will be automatically marked as Missing. You'll see a confirmation prompt showing how many drones are still outstanding before you confirm.

Once received, drones are removed from their cases and returned to unallocated inventory, ready to be packed into cases again for the next show.