Concept · Direction A "Field to Cloud" · View Direction B
Request a quote
Unidata remote data logger with solar panel and telemetry antenna beside a river in a Pilbara gorge
50 years in the field · Backed by ESNZ

Reliable field data from the world's toughest places.

Remote loggers, water flow measurement and hosted telemetry, designed and built in Perth. From a single river gauge to a national network, Unidata gets your data home.

Request a quote Find your solution
Watch the film1:30 · Coming soon
50 yearsFounded with UWA in the 1970s
ESNZ ownedNZ's government science institute
50,000+Loggers and instruments delivered
ISO 9001Certified quality, made in WA
Solutions

What do you need to monitor?

Start with the problem. We'll match the sensors, logger, connectivity and hosting to your site, then show you where we've done it before.

How it works

One connected system, from sensor to screen.

Buy one piece or the whole chain. Because we make every link, it all works together, and one team supports it.

Sensor

Level, velocity, rainfall, quality and more.

Starflow · 3rd party

Logger

Records reliably for years on minimal power.

NRL range

Connectivity

The right link for the site, wherever it is.

Cellular · Satellite · Radio

Neon hosting

Secure storage, management and alarms.

Hosted by Unidata

Your dashboard

See it, share it, or feed your own systems.

Web · API · Exports
Products

Three products. One system that just keeps working.

Hardware that survives decades in the field, and a hosted platform that turns it into decisions.

Starflow QSD ultrasonic water velocity sensor installed on the floor of an irrigation channelFew direct competitors worldwide
Water velocity and flow

Starflow QSD

Measure velocity, depth and flow in channels, pipes and streams with a single compact instrument. Starflow sits on the bed, out of the way of debris, and reports continuously.

  • Velocity, depth and flow from one sensor
  • Works in open channels, culverts, pipes and rivers
  • Low power for solar and battery sites
Explore StarflowDownload datasheet
Neon Remote Logger rugged telemetry data logger
Remote data collection

Neon Remote Logger (NRL)

Low-power loggers that collect sensor data and send it home over the network that suits the site.

Compare NRL models
FLOW · CHANNEL 7
1.42 m³/s
ALARMS
High level · Site 12
Low battery · NRL-221
412 sites reporting
Hosted telemetry

Neon hosting

Manage every logger, store every reading, set alarms and share dashboards, without running your own servers.

See Neon in actionClient login
Technician checking live Starflow flow readings on a tablet at a flooded culvert
Spotlight · Starflow QSD

Flow measurement almost nobody else can do.

Most flow meters need a weir, a flume or a clear pipe. Starflow measures velocity and depth from the channel bed, so you get accurate flow in places other instruments can't reach. It's why integrators across Asia, Europe and North America specify it.

Velocity + depthIn one instrument
Bed-mountedOut of the debris path
Neon-readyStraight into hosting
Talk to a flow specialist
50yrsDesigning and building in Perth
50k+Loggers and instruments delivered
5,000Customers around the world
15yrsIn a river, serviced, then straight back out
"

Our kit comes back for a service after fifteen years sitting in a river, and goes straight back out. That's the standard we build to.

Ron, General Manager, Unidata
Why Unidata

Four reasons our customers stay for decades.

01

Reliability

Fifty years of field-proven design, backed by Earth Sciences New Zealand. Built for heat, floods, dust and distance.

02

Connectivity flexibility

Cellular, satellite or radio. We use the link that works at your site, not the one that suits our product list.

03

Application expertise

Our engineers have solved river, channel, groundwater and remote-asset problems thousands of times. Ask us the hard question.

04

Telemetry to hosting, supported

Logger, link and platform from one maker, with one Perth team that answers when you call.

Case studies

Real problems, solved in the field.

All case studies

Illustration of a remote river gauging station sending data by satellite
GovernmentPilbara, WA

Keeping remote river gauges reporting through the wet season

ChallengeGauging stations hundreds of kilometres from the nearest town, cut off by floods for months.
SolutionNRL loggers with satellite telemetry and solar power, managed in Neon.
ResultsContinuous data through flood events and fewer site visits. Figures to be supplied.
Read the case study →
Illustration of a remote gas pipeline site with telemetry cabinet
GasWestern Australia

Remote asset telemetry for a gas operator

ChallengeUnmanned sites across the outback with no reliable view of tank, pressure and environmental data.
SolutionRugged loggers on mixed cellular and satellite links, with Neon alarms to on-call staff.
ResultsIssues spotted before they became call-outs. Figures to be supplied.
Read the case study →
Illustration of irrigation canals with a Starflow flow sensor and telemetry mast
Partner projectSouth-East Asia

Irrigation canal flow for a national water project

ChallengeAn integrator needed accurate flow in earthen canals where weirs and flumes weren't practical.
SolutionStarflow QSD instruments with NRL loggers, built into the integrator's wider system.
ResultsFair, measured water allocation across the scheme. Figures to be supplied.
Read the case study →
Worldwide

Made in Perth. Working on every continent.

Around 40% of our work is delivered through sales partners and system integrators who build Unidata into larger projects.

Unidata HQ, PerthPartner and integrator countriesCustomer sites
For partners and integrators

Building a bigger project? Build Unidata in.

We supply loggers and flow measurement as part of your system, with engineering support, documentation and open data integration. No SCADA lock-in, no competing with you for the customer.

  • Technical support from the engineers who design the product
  • Data into your platform via standard formats and APIs
  • Starflow, a flow instrument with few direct competitors
  • Active partners in Thailand, the Philippines, Korea, Indonesia, Canada and the UK
About Unidata

Fifty years of getting data home.

Unidata started in the 1970s as a joint venture with the University of Western Australia. Today around 20 engineers and technicians in O'Connor, WA design, build and support monitoring systems used by about 5,000 customers worldwide.

We're wholly owned by Earth Sciences New Zealand, so our customers get the agility of a specialist manufacturer with the backing of a national science institute.

ESNZ
Wholly owned by Earth Sciences New ZealandNew Zealand's government science institute, formerly NIWA
Celebrating 50 years · 1976–2026 →
1970s

Born at UWA

Unidata begins as a joint venture with the University of Western Australia.

Decades in the field

Built for the Pilbara

Loggers designed to survive Australia's harshest, most remote sites.

Global growth

Starflow goes worldwide

Partners and integrators across Asia, Europe and North America.

Today

Part of ESNZ

Wholly owned by Earth Sciences New Zealand.

Next

Connected monitoring

Neon hosting brings every site, sensor and alarm into one place.

Questions

Straight answers.

Can't see your question? Our engineers are on +61 8 9331 8600.

What does Unidata make?

Unidata designs and manufactures remote data loggers (the Neon Remote Logger range), Starflow water velocity and flow instruments, and Neon hosting for telemetry management, data storage, visualisation and alarms. Everything is built in Perth, Western Australia.

Who owns Unidata?

Unidata is wholly owned by Earth Sciences New Zealand (ESNZ, formerly NIWA), New Zealand's government science institute. The company began in the 1970s as a joint venture with the University of Western Australia.

Does Unidata supply SCADA or control systems?

No. We focus on field data collection, telemetry and hosted monitoring. Neon data can be passed to your existing SCADA, historian or business systems through standard integrations.

How long does Unidata equipment last in the field?

Our loggers and instruments are built for remote, harsh sites such as the Pilbara. It's common for equipment to come back for a service after 15 years in a river and go straight back out.

Can I buy Unidata products outside Australia?

Yes. We work with sales partners and system integrators in countries including Thailand, the Philippines, Korea, Indonesia, Canada and the United Kingdom, and ship direct worldwide.

Tell us about your site. We'll design the system.

Share what you need to measure and where. A Unidata engineer will come back with a recommended setup and a quote.

+61 8 9331 8600Mon–Fri, Perth time [email protected]We reply within one business day Neon client loginExisting hosting customers