AutoDipwell

The presence of a functional water table is fundamental to the restoration and long-term prospects of several types of habitat. In particular, many peatland habitats require a water table close to the surface to sustain conditions required for peat formation and for specialist vegetation to survive.

Measuring the water table has multiple challenges. Sites often show significant variation both spatially and temporally which makes manual sampling approaches extremely time consuming. When combined with remote locations and difficult access, autonomous sensing technology offers potential solutions. However, these solutions may also involve significant cost and ongoing visits for maintenance and data acquisition.

The motivation for AutoDipwell is to provide a robust, low-cost sensing solution which can be installed quickly in remote locations. Using no moving parts or sensitive components requiring complex calibration, AutoDipwell infers water depth using the dielectric properties of water vs air. It also packs a long-range WiFi radio which allows it to form a mesh network connecting all sensors across a site, enabling data to be shared across sensors to a convenient single point of download.

AutoDipwell is currently in advanced stages of testing, aiming for commercial availability from Q3 2025.