GroPoint’s Patented Soil Moisture Monitoring Technology
Time-Domain Transmission x5
TDT⁵ provides accurate, full-profile soil moisture data without blind spots, setting the benchmark for precision, stability, and long-term performance in the field.
Extended Antenna Design
TDT⁵ uses a patented coiled antenna structure that achieves an effective length five times its linear size, capturing a continuous soil profile for precise, multi-depth measurement.
Advanced Signal Processing
TDT⁵ uses a patented coiled antenna structure that achieves an effective length five times the linear length it comsumes, capturing a continuous soil profile for precise, multi-depth measurement.
Integrated Architecture
Measurement electronics and antenna are combined into a single, compact design that enhances durability, simplifies calibration, and reduces maintenance requirements.
Key Benefits
Accurate Measurement Across Entire Length
Our patented design weaves the antenna through the circuit board 20 times per centimetre, and much like a coiled spring the effective length of the antenna is 5 times the physical length it consumes. It’s like having a 75cm long antenna in a single 15cm soil moisture sensor. A larger antenna increases the resolution and sample area of each sample, allowing more noise to be filtered out. This gives highly accurate tracking of moisture changes with no “dead spots”.
Reduced manufacturing cost
Unlike other soil moisture sensors, GroPoint soil sensors do not have separate components for electronics and bulky metal antennas. By integrating the antenna and all electronics into the same circuit board (possible thanks to the patented antenna design), manufacturing costs are dramatically reduced.
Repeatable accuracy
Each time a measurement is taken, GroPoint sends 400,000 pulses through the sensing element to generate data for the measurement, then employs advanced filtering to eliminate outlying readings (noise) before averaging the data and sending the measurement as SDI-12 output. This ensures that the same accuracy (±1%) is obtained each and every time moisture is measured.
Low power consumption
Even with 400,000 pulses for each measurement, the total time to take the measurement is less than 100 ms. This means that power consumption is minimal, and that permits GroPoint soil sensors to be operated for many months with small 3.6V nominal battery-powered data loggers.
Maximum durability
Unlike typical sensors, the antenna is not exposed to the soil, so there’s nothing to bend or break. The entire sensor circuit board is sealed in epoxy then encased in a polycarbonate housing.
How it works
01
Pulse Transmission
TDT⁵ converts the change in travel-time behavior into volumetric water content, using the sensor’s voltage response to shifts in the soil’s dielectric properties. This produces stable, repeatable readings that represent true soil moisture levels.
02
Signal Interaction
TDT⁵ interprets changes in the pulse’s effective travel-time behavior by measuring voltage shifts caused by dielectric changes in the soil. These voltage-based measurements are converted into reliable volumetric moisture readings.
03
Moisture Calculation
TDT⁵ measures voltage changes linked to soil dielectric properties and converts these into accurate, repeatable volumetric moisture readings.
Soil sensors have low power consumption over time
Antenna and electronics all in one
Soil moisture profile circuit board encased in epoxy and polycarbonate housing
High precision measurements by filtering out noise
GroPoint soil profile antenna
The
Advantage
GroPoint™ soil sensors are based on the field-proven Time Domain Transmission (TDT) method of reliably measuring soil moisture, which is a refined version of Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR). TDT-based sensors do not need to be calibrated to each type of soil they will be buried in to deliver excellent accuracy and stability, however we do calibrate for 3 specific soil types for even greater accuracy.
Comprehensive Soil Moisture Profiling with GroPoint TDT⁵
GroPoint TDT⁵ provides comprehensive, full-profile soil moisture insights, moving beyond the limitations of sensors that only measure a small "focal point." Our patented TDT⁵ technology features a unique, extended antenna design that enables the sensor to interact with and measure a significantly larger and more representative volume of soil. This delivers uniform, accurate moisture readings across the entire profile, empowering you with complete data for precise irrigation management and optimal crop health.
