Imagine you could fly a small drone over a farm or wetland and instantly know exactly how wet the soil is everywhere — even under clouds, at night, or beneath trees. That's what MISTRALE built. Instead of using cameras that need sunlight and clear skies, the system picks up GPS signals bouncing off the ground to measure moisture levels from 0 to 100%. Think of it like echolocation for soil wetness, packed into a drone weighing less than 4 kilograms.
Farmers and environmental managers currently rely on either expensive ground sensors that measure only single points, or satellite imagery that fails under clouds, at night, and beneath vegetation. This leaves major blind spots in irrigation planning and flood risk assessment. There is no affordable, all-weather solution for mapping soil moisture across large areas with high reliability.
The project built a compact GNSS-R receiver embedded in a small drone (under 4 kg) that measures soil moisture from 0 to 100% by analyzing reflected GPS and Galileo satellite signals. This was demonstrated through pilot service chains for agricultural irrigation optimization and wetland/flood area monitoring.
If you are an irrigation company struggling with over-watering or crop stress from uneven moisture — this project developed a drone-mounted sensor that maps soil humidity from 0 to 100% across entire fields, even under cloud cover or vegetation. It works day and night, letting you target irrigation exactly where it's needed and cut water waste.
If you are an insurer dealing with costly flood damage claims and inaccurate risk maps — this project demonstrated a service for mapping flooded areas and flood-prone zones using reflected satellite signals from drones. It provides objective damage evaluation data even during cloud cover, helping you assess claims faster and price risk more accurately.
If you are an environmental consultancy responsible for monitoring protected wetlands or evaluating flood risk zones — this project piloted a system that detects water presence under vegetation, bushes, and trees where traditional satellite imagery fails. The compact drone system maps moisture across large areas without disturbing sensitive habitats.
The project does not disclose specific pricing. However, the system was designed around a compact GNSS-R receiver embedded in a small drone under 4 kg, suggesting relatively low hardware costs compared to traditional remote sensing. Operational costs would depend on area coverage and flight frequency.
The project demonstrated service chains through pilot projects in both agriculture and flood monitoring. Scaling would depend on drone flight regulations and fleet size, but the system was specifically designed for operational deployment, not just laboratory testing.
The consortium of 7 partners across 4 countries jointly developed the technology. M3 Systems Belgium, the coordinating SME, would be the primary contact for licensing inquiries. IP arrangements would follow the standard Horizon 2020 consortium agreement.
Yes — this is a key advantage. Unlike visible or near-infrared satellite imagery, GNSS-R works under cloud cover, during nighttime, and even detects moisture beneath vegetation such as bushes, grass, and trees. This makes it far more reliable than traditional remote sensing methods.
Ground-based sensors give you a single point measurement. Satellite imagery needs clear skies and can't see through vegetation. This system fills the gap by providing continuous humidity mapping from 0 to 100% across large areas using reflected GPS and Galileo signals, regardless of weather or vegetation cover.
The project specifically addressed RPAS integration into airspace, using drones under 4 kg to comply with lighter regulatory requirements. The project also contributed to developing regulations for small RPAS operations, which has since evolved under EU drone regulation frameworks.
The MISTRALE consortium brings together 7 partners from 4 countries (Belgium, France, Netherlands, UK) with a strong commercial orientation — 57% are industry players, and 4 of the 7 partners are SMEs. This is not an academic exercise. Led by M3 Systems Belgium, a specialized GNSS company, the consortium paired four SMEs covering GNSS receivers, signal processing, operational applications and dissemination with two university labs for drone and GNSS-R research, plus one research organization. An advisory board of agronomy and environment specialists as well as end users guided the work toward real market needs.
M3 Systems Belgium — contact via project website or SciTransfer introduction
Want to connect with the MISTRALE team about deploying GNSS-R soil moisture mapping in your operations? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the technology developers.
