Announcing our partnership with Esri

TerraLab, the designer and manufacturer of the STA logger announced Esri Partner Network partnership with Esri, the global market leader in location intelligence.

The STA logger (pronounced “sta”, not “S.T.A.”) is an automated GPS and data logging attachment designed to integrate with existing weed control tools in the conservation and forestry industries. Once equipped, the solution takes mapping and data handling out of the hands of the operator and automates it so that all there is left to do is view and analyse your data. The STA logger is used by government and private industry worldwide for conducting targeted weed control programs and mapping the location of trees that have been or are to be planted.

“We originally designed the system with the ambition of mapping every weed that was sprayed during routine conservation work. Not only would it create an efficiency in following up stubborn weed infestations, but the analysis of the temporal trends was expected to be insightful,” said Harley Schinagl, Director of TerraLab and designer of the STA logger. “But in addition to that, we saw it being adopted by the forestry industry for marking the location of their trees, and effectively giving them a stand count while conducting routine weed maintenance.”

Some organisations are also using it as a way of tracking and verifying the location of herbicide application on their land. “The data is so fine scale that one can determine the location and time of every trigger pull of the spray equipment,” Harley said.

Many will be familiar with Esri because of their ArcGIS system which has been the mainstay of the GIS world for decades. The STA logger system relies on ArcGIS for processing, hosting and serving data to its users. Users without a background in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can easily view and interact with the data through their browser or mobile device, while the more experienced user can add the data to their ArcGIS Pro project.

View the official press release here.