GroundWorx and University of Canterbury: Better Evidence for Agricultural Water Decisions

Water decisions on a farm begin with a question that is easy to ask and difficult to answer across an entire field: how much moisture is actually in the soil? GroundWorx and the University of Canterbury in New Zealand have formalised a research collaboration aimed at strengthening the evidence behind that answer.

The memorandum of understanding supports Phase B of Scaling up Soil Moisture Sensing for Agricultural Water Management in Australia and New Zealand, known as ANZ-SMDAS. University of Canterbury leads the New Zealand research hub in collaboration with the University of Newcastle and Monash University. The work brings together GNSS interferometric reflectometry instruments and co-located ground-truth soil moisture sensors for near-surface measurement and field-scale validation.

GNSS interferometric reflectometry examines reflected satellite-navigation signals to infer conditions at the land surface. Direct soil observations provide an important reference against which those estimates can be checked. The research collaboration is about connecting those two perspectives: broader field-scale observations and measurements taken in the ground.

GroundWorx intends to provide two GX-1A sensors and two GX-1F sensors on a no-cost, non-exclusive loan basis, alongside platform API access, raw sensor data and reasonable technical support. The agreed depth capabilities are approximately 2–14 inches for GX-1A and 1–44 inches for GX-1F. The memorandum specifies six readings per hour by default, with changes possible by agreement. The equipment remains GroundWorx property.

Professor Matt Wilson leads the UC research hub, with Dr. Maria Vega Corredor coordinating the institutional and project relationship. GroundWorx Co-Founder and Advisor Lee Marshall identified the opportunity and initiated outreach to Professor Wilson in May 2026, helping bring the research team and GroundWorx together. President and CTO Diego Borrego has been involved in the technical and company coordination.

University of Canterbury's authorised institutional signatory, Rebecca Hurrell, signed on 22 September 2026. Diego Borrego signed for GroundWorx on 6 October 2026, completing execution of the memorandum. The framework sets out equipment loans, installation coordination, research data access, technical support and the handling of intellectual property and confidential information.

For GroundWorx, the collaboration creates an opportunity to evaluate its sensing technology in an agricultural research setting and deepen relationships across Australia and New Zealand. For the research team, the planned contribution provides multi-depth ground observations for validation and analysis. This is a research milestone—not an announcement of completed validation, proven water savings, a commercial order or university endorsement of GAIN.

Each party retains its pre-existing intellectual property and its own research outputs. The memorandum welcomes future discussions about continued research, pilots and broader deployment, to be explored separately and in good faith. It does not grant an exclusive commercialisation arrangement or a right of first negotiation.

The next steps are to confirm shipment details and coordinate platform setup, API documentation, installation guidance and field deployment with the UC team. Results and any future commercial opportunities will depend on the work ahead. The ambition is straightforward: help turn better observations into better agricultural water decisions, with research evidence leading the way.