• If you are looking for a direct push tool for the delineation of petroleum, oil, and lubricant contaminants in-situ, visit our Ultra-Violet Optical Screening Tool (UVOST®) product page.

• For the detection of coal tars, creosotes, heavy crudes, and tank bottoms, visit our Tar-specific Green Optical Screening Tool (TarGOST®) service page.

Dakota Technologies, Inc. (Dakota) specializes in the research, development, and commercial application of innovative technologies that rapidly detect, log, and sample contaminants in soil, water, and air.

Our core strength is our ability to combine and innovate a number of technologies including lasers, optics, electronics, and advanced materials to form products/services that solve our customer’s problems. Our team of chemists, geologists, and engineers spend as much time wearing steel-toed boots as they do lab-jackets.  This hands on experience is reflected in the design and performance of our products/services.

Dakota is dedicated to researching, developing, and commercializing tools and services that provide innovative and cost-effective solutions to the diverse and challenging needs of our customers.

Our History

In 1993, Dakota Technologies, Inc. (Dakota) was founded with the goal of developing and commercializing a laser induced fluorescence (LIF) systems for the characterization of sub-surface contaminants such as fuels, oils, and coal tar.

Based on successful U.S Air Force-funded field demonstrations of Dakota’s CPT-delivered LIF system, a consortium was created for the commercialization of the Rapid Optical Screening Tool (ROST). The consortium, consisting of Dakota, Unisys (prime contractor), Hogentogler & Company, Inc., developed and marketed the world’s first commercially available LIF logging service in 1994.

In 1997, Dakota successfully engineered the specialized tooling necessary to allow for percussion-based direct push platform delivery, including Geoprobes®. In 2004, Dakota introduced the Tar-specific Green Optical Screening Tool (TarGOST®) for coal tar and creosote, materials which had historically yielded inconsistent responses with ROST.

In 2006, Dakota acquired a sub-license to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s sapphire-window patent, allowing Dakota to independently develop and market sapphire-windowed based tools/services. As a result, Dakota rebranded our ROST services as the Ultra-Violet Optical Screening Tool (UVOST®) – a XeCl excimer laser-based fluorescence system for logging petroleum-based fuels, oils, and lubricants.

Dakota has been awarded numerous research contracts in the environmental field to develop instruments, tools, and services for both field and laboratory use. Dakota also pursued other applications for its unique LIF technologies, most significant of which was an initiative to develop instruments and assays for the life-science field. In mid-2006, Dakota spun out its life-science division into a separate company, allowing Dakota to focus solely on its heritage of designing, building, and commercializing environmental based tools/services.

Dakota continues to conduct contract research and development aimed toward commercializing tools that measure, monitor, log, or sample a wide variety of compounds in soils, water, and air.  Look on our web site for the latest information on technologies being developed by Dakota.