Aegidis Systems
Tessera™ Patent pending • USPTO #63/940,006

Hardware-Rooted Asset Identity for Ferrous Surfaces

Tessera is a patent-pending passive NFC asset identity platform designed for ferrous environments where conventional labels, QR codes, adhesive tags, and basic NFC approaches struggle. The platform combines magnetic attachment with a protected physical-digital identity workflow, allowing assets to be tapped, verified, and logged without batteries, always-on radios, or a vendor-owned tracking cloud.

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The Problem
Two failure modes, one solution

Conventional Asset Identity Fails on Metal

Labels peel and fade. QR codes need line of sight and clean surfaces. Standard NFC tags detune when placed directly on steel — eddy currents kill the antenna. So-called "on-metal" tags use ferrite to manage this, which works until you add a strong magnet.

Magnetic Retention Creates an NFC Design Challenge

Many NFC approaches can work on metal only under limited conditions. When strong magnetic attachment, steel substrates, environmental exposure, and operational handling are combined, read reliability and physical durability become harder to preserve. Tessera is designed around that combined operating problem rather than treating magnetic retention and NFC performance as separate features.

The authentication gap: even on-metal tags that do read have a fundamental security weakness — their UID is static and clonable. Any reader can capture the UID; any blank tag can be loaded with that UID. A cloned UID can pass as genuine in systems that rely only on static identifiers. In supply chain, LOTO, and depot logistics contexts, this is not an acceptable residual risk.
• THE ARCHITECTURE
What makes it work
Exploded Token
Tessera Token cut-away architecture diagram showing representative protected token architecture
  • Ruggedized housing
    Application-specific enclosure design for protecting the token, supporting handling requirements, and matching the physical environment.
  • Magnetic attachment
    Removable attachment to ferrous assets without drilling, welding, or permanent adhesive. Retention strength is selected for the application and threat model.
  • Magnetic management layer
    Internal magnetic management features help preserve NFC behavior when the token is attached to steel or other ferrous surfaces.
  • Patent-pending RF management architecture
    The protected architecture is designed to support passive NFC communication in steel-heavy environments while maintaining magnetic attachment.
  • Passive NFC identity layer
    NFC identity options can be configured for simple consumer workflows or stronger authenticated workflows depending on the product series and buyer requirements.
  • Sealed base structure
    Base and encapsulation features protect geometry, support durability, and help adapt the token to the operating environment.
Magnetic attachment → protected NFC behavior → verified event workflow.

The protected invention is the integrated system approach: magnetic attachment, passive NFC operation, ferrous-surface use, and physical-digital identity workflow in a single deployable token architecture. Detailed implementation parameters are maintained as controlled company background data.

Product Lines
One platform, two series

Both series share the same platform thesis: a passive, magnetically attached token that connects physical assets to digital workflows. Product configuration varies by application, assurance level, and operating environment.

Tessera Forge Series

Consumer & Gaming

Passive HF NFC identity tokens for tabletop gaming, hobby collections, and consumer applications. Magnetically retained to metal game boards, terrain, and storage cases. Simple read/write for character data, scenario information, and collection management.

Consumer workflows • tabletop gaming • collection management
Tessera Ordnance Series

Industrial, LOTO & Defense

Hardware-rooted asset identity for industrial equipment, LOTO programs, depot maintenance, supply chain integrity, and defense logistics. Designed to support clone-resistant and replay-resistant workflows when deployed with appropriate authenticated NFC configuration, key management, and backend validation.

Authenticated NFC workflows • industrial and defense use cases • customer-owned event records
Authentication Model
From static identity to verified events

The Ordnance Series is designed to move beyond static UID-only identity. In an authenticated deployment, each tap can generate a cryptographically verifiable message that is checked by a backend system before the event is recorded. This makes the workflow stronger than simple tag lookup, while still depending on proper enrollment, key management, reader behavior, and backend validation.

Property Conventional On-Metal Tag Tessera Forge Series Tessera Ordnance Series
Magnetic retention on steel No — adhesive or standoff only Yes — application-specific magnetic retention Yes — application-specific magnetic retention
Reads under magnet bias No — ferrite saturates Designed for ferrous-surface NFC operation Designed for ferrous-surface NFC operation
Authentication model UID only — static, clonable Basic NFC identity — not intended for authenticated workflows Authenticated NFC event model
Clone resistance None None Hardware-backed authentication option
Replay resistance None None Counter / transaction validation when enabled
Event assurance None None Cryptographically verifiable event record
Tamper evidence None Physical evidence on removal Physical evidence and optional tamper-aware configurations
Mechanical tamper resistance None Optional interlock Optional interlock — twist-lock, detent, or tool-required release matched to threat model
Power Passive HF Passive HF Passive HF — no batteries, no maintenance
Backend model Vendor SaaS — third-party ledger Your Google or Microsoft tenant Verified events routed to customer-owned systems
Industrial & Defense Applications
Ordnance Series use cases

LOTO & Safety Compliance

Each LOTO inspection tap generates an authenticated NFC event — timestamped, cryptographically verifiable when authenticated workflows are enabled, written to your EAM. The read counter flags gaps. A missed inspection shows up as an absence in the record, not a disputed paper log. The token on the breaker is passive; it powers up when tapped and goes dark when you walk away. No batteries in the token and no always-on radio required.

Defense Depot & Maintenance

Hardware-rooted asset identity for vehicles, equipment, tools, and calibrated instruments in depot and field maintenance environments. Removes the adhesive and drill-hole limitations that prevent conventional RFID tagging on ferrous DoD assets. Compatible with existing NFC-capable mobile devices and reader infrastructure.

Supply Chain Integrity

Authenticated identity workflows for ferrous containers, crates, and equipment throughout the defense supply chain. Verified event logic can help verify at receiving that the presented token matches the expected authenticated identity record. Supports DoD supply chain integrity requirements where UID-only tags are insufficient.

Tool Control & Calibration Tracking

Authenticated identity for steel tooling in manufacturing, aerospace, and defense maintenance. Each tool tap generates a verifiable event — check-out, check-in, calibration touch — with transaction sequencing that can help flag gaps or unexpected event patterns when backend validation is enabled, regardless of whether the tool stayed on the correct asset.

Tap Workflow
Read, verify, log
Ordnance Series authentication sequence
Phone Tessera token Verified event → your tenant
1. Phone approaches token on a ferrous asset — token remains attached and presents an NFC identity
2. Authenticated configurations generate a verifiable tap message with transaction state
3. Backend validates the message, checks expected sequence, and writes the event to the customer-owned system
Platform Fit
What Tessera is and isn't

Hardware-Backed Verification Model

Authenticated NFC deployments can use hardware-backed keys and backend verification to improve resistance to cloning and replay. Security outcomes depend on implementation choices, enrollment controls, reader behavior, and backend policy enforcement.

Passive — No Batteries, No Subscriptions

Power is harvested from the reader field during each tap. Dormant tokens consume nothing, fail nothing, and require no maintenance. Authentication events occur on demand, not continuously. No always-on radio. No subscription tracker. No battery replacement schedule.

Your Ledger, Your Rules

Verified tap events can be routed directly into your Google or Microsoft tenant. No Aegidis intermediary. No required third-party platform intermediary. Your audit trail lives where your other records live, managed by people who already have clearance to manage it. If you ever stop using Tessera, the data stays with you.

Layered Physical Security by Design

Threat model determines configuration. Base configurations focus on magnetic retention and physical evidence of handling. Additional mechanical or tamper-aware options can be selected for elevated environments. The platform is designed to adapt by application.

On the residual risk of magnetic attachment: No physical security solution is absolute. Tessera's residual risk is deliberate removal — requiring meaningful force, leaving physical evidence, and creating a detectable gap in the tap history. This is a smaller attack surface than every adhesive, barcode, or UID-only alternative. For applications requiring higher resistance to removal or substitution, enhanced configurations can be selected within the same platform.
Pilot Fit Snapshot
Best fit / Not a fit

Best Fit

  • Ferrous-asset workflows where adhesive/QR solutions fail reliability checks.
  • Programs requiring verifiable tap events in customer-owned systems.
  • Pilot teams that can define one clear workflow and success metric.

Not a Fit (Right Now)

  • Use cases needing always-on GPS or continuous live location tracking.
  • Buyers expecting plug-and-play deployment without workflow enrollment steps.
  • Programs that cannot support even light pilot integration effort.
Interested in a Tessera evaluation?

Sample kits, pilot evaluations, and integration discussions for both the Forge Series and Ordnance Series are available for qualified buyers. Bring your use case — we'll tell you which configuration fits.

Request Pilot Evaluation Discuss Pilot Fit