Automation in the Turf Industry: Integrating Technologies Like Spiio and TurfTasker
Recently partnered with TurfTasker, a growing communications and tracking platform for turfgrass professionals, Spiio is showing that its easy-to-integrate API opens new doors for the future of communication and automation in golf course operation.
One of the reasons Spiio is growing rapidly is that it’s optimized for integration with other emerging technologies. As the turf industry, along with much of the world, moves toward automation, this technological integration is key. One company that recognizes and is riding this trend is the comprehensive platform TurfTasker.
TurfTasker: The Origins of a Comprehensive Platform
TurfTasker was started by three friends—two software engineers and a turfgrass professional who was working at Roger Dean Stadium in Florida. At one point, this friend expressed “At the stadium, we do everything on whiteboards, paper, and Excel. It’s real old school.” The three friends decided to work together to provide a more modernized data recording and communication solution for Roger Dean.
“At the stadium, we do everything on whiteboards, paper, and Excel. It’s real old school.”
Alex Jacobs, TurfTasker
That’s how the project started, but it soon grew to be a lot more.
After some contact with other turf venues, the emerging TurfTasker soon realized that golf course operation would be a prime application for their new platform. By this point, several months of work had yielded a full-fledged product. TurfTasker provides clients with the potential for automation in many of their day-to-day operations. It offers property mapping, a comprehensive platform for tracking essential data, and—of course—the ability to integrate that platform with other technologies.
Mitchell Moenster, TurfTasker 
Brendan, Turftasker 
Alex Jacobs, TurfTasker
Using Spiio Data to Enhance Potential Automation
Alex Jacobs, one of the founders of TurfTasker, has expressed his excitement about the budding partnership with Spiio. “The integration was easy,” he says, “and the data is awesome. It really takes us to the next level.” Rather than positioning the app as a widget within the platform, TurfTasker pulls Spiio data directly from Spiio’s API to populate its graphically-friendly tables and charts. Alex built out a one-page portal where you can really see the potential for automation at play. For example, he says, “You can schedule a task to Worker X that’s dependent on whether it’s supposed to rain.” Integrated with local weather forecasting and soil moisture data from Spiio sensors, the system does the analysis and delegation on its own. This communication between technologies really opens doors for golf course operation.
“You can schedule a task to Worker X that’s dependent on whether it’s supposed to rain.” Integrated with local weather forecasting and soil moisture data from Spiio sensors, the system does the analysis and delegation on its own.
Alex Jacobs, TurfTasker
Though it’s a valuable product now, TurfTasker is only getting started. Its vision for automation includes the ability to combine property mapping and inventory records to show users exactly what they’ve got and what a given task will cost. Imagine this scenario: TurfTasker pulls information on soil temperatures from Spiio data to determine whether a chemical application is needed in a certain area of turf. It then uses property mapping, area calculation, and inventory tracking to figure out how much product would be needed, how much would be left afterward, and how much the task would cost before assigning that task to a specific worker.
Imagine this scenario: TurfTasker pulls information on soil temperatures from Spiio data to determine whether a chemical application is needed in a certain area of turf?
Looking to the Future: Plans and Possibilities
TurfTasker has a lot planned in the near future. We can soon see another almost-too-good scenario becoming possible: Spiio provides real-time data on soil moisture, and irrigation responds to set thresholds by watering where and when it’s needed. In a post-Covid world that increasingly values remote and labor-efficient work, this kind of automation is a lifesaver for turfgrass professionals. “It would cut down workforce and save water, which is necessary for both financial and environmental conscientiousness,” Jacobs points out.
It would cut down workforce and save water, which is necessary for both financial and environmental conscientiousness.
Alex Jacobs
The integration between Spiio and TurfTasker is mutually beneficial. Spiio is quickly becoming a well-established product with a reputation for value and dependability. TurfTasker is unique because it is a much more comprehensive product than many of its competitors. “We’re excited to see a partnership with Spiio develop,” says Jacobs. Speaking with him about it, it’s clear that we’re witnessing a turning point in which communication between technologies like Spiio and TurfTasker is creating new possibilities for the future of golf course operation.
Turf Table View. 
Turf Chart View 
Turf Saturation Map
Read more about Spiio’s API here and don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.