Integration of Unitech SDK for Professional Scanners on a Ticketing Platform

The client is a ticketing platform that offers a comprehensive event ticketing solution covering design, distribution, sales, and logistics.

Our task was to add support for a new device to an existing application. More specifically, the client had a mobile application written in React Native that allowed scanning tickets using iOS/Android phones and external professional scanners. To streamline the process, the client decided to start working with Unitech PA768, mobile computers running on Android 12. The new devices have a built-in laser scanner, and thus there is no need for an external scanner; this makes the scanning process faster.

In order to use the existing app on the new devices effectively, new features were required: (1) initialisation of the built-in laser scanner instead of the ordinary built-in camera; (2) communication between the app and the scanner. To implement this, it was necessary to use the Unitech SDK designed to facilitate integration with Unitech’s devices, including barcode scanners.

Initially, the team intended to use an existing React Native library for integrating with Unitech devices. However, they found that the library was built for older models and relied on Android framework classes that were no longer used in the updated PA768 API, which now operated via Intent objects. As a result, the existing solution was incompatible with the new device, leading to the need for a custom approach.

To address the issue, the team decided to develop an Android application using Jetpack Compose to test hypotheses and API functionality. This approach helped validate API calls and ensure proper interaction with the scanner hardware. The test was successful, confirming the viability of custom integration.

React Native Integration

Building on the success of the Android app, the team developed a custom React Native library for the scanner API. This library was integrated into the existing React Native application, with screens modified to handle both scanner and camera functionality.

Optimization and Improvements

Several optimizations were made to enhance the user experience, particularly to speed up visitor processing:

• Scanner Initialization: Streamlined for faster startup.
• Confirmation Screens: Added for more efficient flow.
• Scan Delays: Minimized waiting time between scans.

Additionally, restrictions were implemented to prevent accidental switching between scanner and camera during use, ensuring smooth operation.

Within a month, the team successfully developed and integrated the Unitech SDK into the client’s React Native app. This solution significantly improved the ticket scanning process, making it faster and more efficient, especially for high-volume events.