TechWeek Case Study: Underground Innovation

Underground Innovation (and how an engineering collaboration across NZ brought a challenging IoT sensor to life)

As we celebrate #Techweek25 and look toward building a better tomorrow for all in Aotearoa New Zealand, (through good tech, of course!) one word comes to mind: collaboration.

Over the last couple of years, we’ve had the pleasure of working with a client of ours to come up with a solution that was not a standard off-the-shelf IoT deployment, and Techweek25 seemed like a better time than any to showcase some of the brilliant companies in Aotearoa that helped make this solution a reality.

Out of sight - but never out of mind.

That’s the paradox of infrastructure: the most reliable systems are the ones we rarely think about, because they just work. In infrastructure, reliability isn’t optional - it’s the baseline.

A client approached us to develop an underground IoT sensor system to monitor hydrology data. The brief was clear, but demanding:

• The device needed to be battery powered, with a minimum 5-year lifespan

• It would be deployed underground, exposed to harsh conditions (temperature swings, moisture, and vehicle loads)

• It needed to transmit proprietary hydrology data to the cloud every 20 minutes

• The data had to feed into a cloud database and GUI, accessible on demand

• Above all, reliability was critical - it had to just work, in any condition, for years at a time

It wasn’t just an electronics problem.  It wasn’t just a mechanical problem.  It was a systems challenge - and we needed a team of NZ’s best to deliver.

🔧 The Tech That Made It Work

The environment was harsh. The solution demanded integration across four engineering disciplines:

🛠 Mechanical Engineering

Led by Globex Engineering the mechanical design went far beyond ‘ruggedising’:

• Designed a sealed enclosure that prevents water ingress under pressure

• Structural resilience under repeated vehicle loads (exposure to heat, cold, vibration etc.)

• Protect a finely tuned antenna - without compromising signal strength or sensor operation

• Keeping the design elegant – it almost goes without saying, clean and compact form factor matters

🔌 Electronics & Firmware

Handled by FlexWare Ltd the electronics had to balance precision with efficiency:

• Develop custom electronics and low-power firmware to collect, process and transmit high-res hydrology data

• Transmit said data every 20 mins via a low power communication protocol

• Achieve energy efficiency and battery optimisation to support 5+ years of operation on two D-cell batteries - no recharging, no replacements

📡 Sensor, Modem, & Antenna Tuning

Enabled by Glyn High Tech Distribution who supplied:

• A specialised hydrology sensor, optimised for accurate in-ground data collection

• A high-performance communication modem, fine-tuned for consistent operation in low-signal conditions

• A precisely matched antenna, engineered to function effectively within a sealed enclosure

☁️ Cloud & Interface

The client managed the GUI and database

• Storing historical data

• Displaying it on demand

• Receiving clean, timestamped data from a device the size of a stack of three CD cases (remember those??), deployed underground

🤝 Why It Worked - Integrated Engineering and Trust-Based Delivery

Could any one company have done this alone? Absolutely not.

The strength of this project was in the tight collaboration between three NZ companies alongside our client:

• Globex Engineering – mechanical design and manufacture

• FlexWare Ltd – electronics, firmware, and cloud integration

• Glyn High Tech Distribution – sensors, communications, and RF expertise

We’ve worked together on many projects, and that experience and deeply rooted trust made a difference here. Daily collaboration, rapid feedback loops, and mutual accountability were essential to stay aligned across design, integration, testing, and deployment.

The system is now manufactured, deployed, and performing as expected in the field, delivering valuable, time-critical data that supports the client and their end users.

This sensor might be underground, but the engineering behind it is something worth surfacing.

🧠 The Bigger Picture: A proven model for complex systems

This project demonstrates what’s possible when NZ engineering firms combine their expertise toward a focused goal. These kinds of deployments don’t succeed through vertical integration—they succeed through interdisciplinary partnerships, backed by trust and technical depth.

When this kind of collaboration happens, the result isn’t just a device that works.  It’s a device that thrives in the harshest conditions - unseen but essential.

This wasn’t just project delivery. It was partnership at work.

With the whakatauki “I orea te tuatara ka puta ki waho / A problem is solved by continuing to find solutions”, we reckon that continuing to find these solutions alongside rather than against other companies in the country is one of the best ways to do that.

#IoT #EngineeringInnovation #MadeInNZ #FlexWare #Globex #Glyn #Hydrology #CollaborationWins #Teamwork #Collaboration #IoT #SustainableTech #SensorDesign #Sensors #KiwiExcellence