Internship: Sensing soil conductivity

Are you a technical talent with a passion for nature? 🚀 

How do water and solutes interact in the rootzone of the crops that feed us and the trees that provide us shelter? And how measure these dynamics using soil moisture probes? Do you enjoy putting science to practice, are you supportive, not afraid of getting your hands dirty, and do you like to alternate these things? Sensoterra offers an internship opportunity that incorporates all of this within a young, innovative, and environmentally oriented organization.

About us

Sensoterra develops, sells, and supports the use of soil moisture sensors. Customers from around the world deploy them for applications in agriculture, smart cities, and environmental monitoring. It is our mission to enable water management platforms and solutions worldwide to 'Make Sense of Water.'

Your challenge

Sensoterra sensors measure soil moisture based on impedance (soil resistivity and capacitance). A method that offers a high accuracy for low battery consumption, but is sensitive to more than soil moisture dynamics. Therefore Sensoterra offers a divers library of soil and substrate calibrations. The calibrations correct for static soil characteristics such as soil texture, organic matter content, and compaction. But not for dynamics of electrical conductivity.

Problematic levels of electrical conductivity (EC) are generally caused by intrusion of salt groundwater, artificial fertilizers, and/or various irrigation practices. The interference with the soil moisture measurement of the Sensoterra sensors is a common distraction and requires a pragmatic technical solution. In collaboration with Sensoterra’s soil manager you will:

• Quantify the EC sensitivity in various soil types, and the impact of EC sensitivity on Sensoterra’s potential customer base.

• Investigate technical and pragmatic solutions for three distinct customer use cases.

• Suggest two sensible approaches (of which at least one as software/hardware) that can reduce the impact to Sensoterra’s customers.

• Propose a product development plan for one of the approaches, including a budget.

Our SoilLab in Houten is at your disposal to mimic the processes and determine the effect of various parameters, such as soil type, temperature, and of course electrical conductivity. In “sandbox mode”, you can put your ideas into practice as your own handy(wo)man.

You have

• Almost completed your BSc/MSc in technical engineering/physics.

• Understanding of the requirements to get from sensor installation to a scientific report.

• A creative, innovative, disciplined, proactive and communicative attitude.

• Scripting skills in Python or similar languages.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills in English (and Dutch).

• Interest to learn more about soil moisture behaviour and monitoring.

What we provide you with

Working at Sensoterra means being part of an inspiring and challenging work environment in an internationally operating business. Our team is young, ambitious, driven, and enjoys learning and working together. We offer a standard internship compensation (€300-350/month). Working at the office in Houten is partially required.

Check our website