How do I create and manage heat maps on a dashboard?

FarmRoad Data Studio allows you to easily create and manage heat maps on any dashboard.

Creating a heat map

1. Go to your Data Studio dashboard

2. Click Add graph or widget button at the bottom of the page. You will be presented with the option to select the type of graph or widget that you want

You can add up to 10 heat maps on a single dashboard.

Configuring a heat map

1. Give your heat map a name 
2. Choose whether you want to add an image to your heat map, or a Google Maps location:

Selecting the ‘Image’ option will allow you to upload an image of your farm or greenhouse: 

Selecting the ‘Google Map’ option will allow you to enter an address or location of your farm or greenhouse:

You are able to zoom in and out and pan the image around to get the best fit for your heat map:

3. Once you are happy with your image or Google Map location, click Done

Adding Data to a Heat map

Heat maps support data from integrated sensors like Folium.

Heat maps also support data that has been uploaded or manually entered into FarmRoad (this could be Crop Registration or Yield data for example) 

1. Select the data type you would like to display on the Heat map

2. Select the source of your data

You can pick between a location (such as Farm, Compartment or Sector) or you can pick an integrated sensor that has been linked to your FarmRoad account. 

• Sensor data is fed into FarmRoad automatically, think of it like ‘live data’. 
• Location data is manually entered or uploaded into FarmRoad. This can be data that is collected with handheld instruments, or crop registration data for example. 

Positioning markers on a heat map

1. Once you have chosen your data type and sources, you now need to position the markers on the heat map 
2. Each data source is assigned a marker
3. Drag and drop each marker to the corresponding location on your farm. This could be the location of the sensor, or the area where the data was manually collected 
4. Hovering over the marker will show you the source of the data 

You can add as many markers to the heat map as you like. 

5. Once you have positioned your markers, hit Done

Using your heat maps

Once you setup your heat maps you can view the data that is being displayed. Each marker will display the most recent reading

Hovering over the marker will give you more information 

If the marker does not have up to date data, it will be blank 

If you are using Google Maps with your heat map, you can zoom and pan within that heat map. This will not change any settings on your heat map, once you refresh the page your heat map will return to your saved configuration. 

Frequently Asked Questions about FarmRoad heat maps

What images types are supported?

The images that are supported are JPEG and PNG up to 20MB in size.

What’s the best format or aspect ratio for my uploaded images?

Ideal images will have a ‘landscape view’ (16:9 aspect ratio), similar to the dimensions of a postcard.

How many markers can I add to a heat map?

There is no limit to the number of markers you can add to a heat map

How many heat maps can I add to a dashboard?

Currently you are able to add up to 10 heat maps on a dashboard

How old can sensor data be before the marker displays as blank? 

Sensor data can be up to 20 minutes old before the marker displays as blank 

How old can location data be before the marker displays as blank? 

Location data can be up to 7 days old before the marker displays as blank.

How many measurement types can I view on a heatmap?

The heat maps supports one measurement type (e.g CO2).