About the Shandal System
A digital survey system that turns a smartphone into a geological and engineering field station, designed and built by Iraqi geologist Ali Shandal Al-Janabi.
Why it exists
For decades, field geology meant scattered tools: readings taken by hand, long calculations, then a return to the office to draw columns, stereonets and contour maps in separate software. Every step cost time and added room for error.
The Shandal System brings that work into one portable tool, from the first reading to the final report, without leaving the site. The name says what it does: survey, to collect spatial data precisely; field, because it goes where the geologist goes.
What we hold to
Method first
Every calculation follows a published method, and every tool page names its sources.
Made for the field
Large controls, sensor input and offline calculation for real conditions.
Open data
We build on international open datasets so results are comparable anywhere.
Your data stays yours
Survey data belongs to the user. We do not sell or share it.
Ali Shandal Al-Janabi
Geologist · Founder and director
An Iraqi geoscientist specialising in geophysics and remote sensing. He graduated top of his department and college in Earth Sciences (Geophysics) at Al-Karkh University of Science and is pursuing a master’s degree at its College of Remote Sensing and Geophysics. Before founding the system he supervised fieldwork and geological research on government quarry contracts in Nahrawan.
He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Iraqi Geologists Syndicate, sits on the advisory board of Al-Karkh University of Science, is a certified trainer (TOT), and was a member of Iraq’s national youth climate team preparing for the COP29 simulation.
- 2026 –
- Founder and director, Shandal Geological Field Survey System
- 2026 –
- M.Sc. student, College of Remote Sensing and Geophysics, Al-Karkh University of Science
- 2024 – 2026
- Field supervisor and geological researcher, government quarry contracts, Nahrawan
- 2024
- B.Sc. Earth Sciences (Geophysics), first in department and college
Milestones
Development begins
First modules for quarry and structural survey are built and tested on government quarry contracts.
Official launch
The system opens to subscribers with eleven survey modules.
Copyright registration
Registered as a scientific work, no. 2841/ع, at the National Centre for Protection of Copyright and Related Rights.
Partnership with GeoNB
A memorandum of cooperation brings the system to members of the GeoNB geology app.
Global platform
New bilingual platform with 29 tools, live global data, academy and library.
Registration and partners
Registered scientific work
The Shandal Geological Field Survey System is registered as a scientific work (software) at the National Centre for Protection of Copyright and Related Rights, Ministry of Culture, Republic of Iraq. Registration records authorship of the work; it is not a licence to practise a profession.
- Work
- Shandal Geological Field Survey System
- Type
- Scientific / software (HTML)
- Author
- Ali Shandal Falah
- Registration no.
- 2841/ع
- Date
- 13 April 2026
GeoNB geology app
Under a memorandum of cooperation signed in Baghdad on 29 September 2026, the Shandal System has a dedicated window inside the GeoNB app, and GeoNB members receive a 25% discount on monthly plans.
See plans