TDRI’s technology measures subsurface moisture on roads while being driven at speeds of up to 90 km/h.
A venture-backed business based on electromagnetic sensing technology developed by Lincoln Agritech and WNT Ventures is a finalist in this year’s KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards.
TDRI looks set to revolutionise road maintenance, by identifying subsurface moisture issues before they cause potholes or other road deterioration.
Subsurface moisture can accelerate roading failure by 2.5x. Legacy methods for subsurface moisture measurement are either impractical to execute at a network level, or lack measurement quality.
TDRI’s technology rapidly measures subsurface moisture non-invasively and continuously, while driving at speeds of up to 90 km/h. This enables network level subsurface moisture measurement with sufficient quality and unparalleled efficiency.
TDRI is a finalist in the 2023 KiwiNet Commercialisation Impact Award, for technology that has been commercialised and is delivering real world impact.
Lincoln Agritech developed the TDRI science and initial technology prototypes in the 2010s. WNT Ventures then incubated and founded TDRI in 2018, which licensed the IP from Lincoln Agritech and went after the roading sector as its first application.
In the past year, TDRI has generated more than $300,000 working with some of New Zealand’s leading roading stakeholders, including Fulton Hogan, Waka Kotahi and several district councils. Its moisture insights are enabling asset managers to transition from reactive to preventative maintenance approaches – including drainage and sealing treatments that treat moisture issues and prevent or slow road deterioration.
Lincoln Agritech CEO Peter Barrowclough said it was great to see TDRI being recognised, given its potential to significantly save road maintenance costs in a warmer, wetter world.
“It’s great to see technology developed by Lincoln Agritech making a difference and solving real-world problems,” he said. “We’re proud of how TDRI Ltd has applied this to the universal, and costly, issue of road maintenance and developed it into a product the roading industry wants.”
