Soil Acoustics Ltd

Soil Acoustics Ltd has developed the Soil Acoustic Meter (SAM), a specialized handheld device designed to monitor soil health by recording the sounds of invertebrates, such as earthworms, beetles, and ants, moving within the topsoil. The technology utilizes ecoacoustics and machine learning to process these vibrations, which are then analyzed against a proprietary database to generate a Soil Acoustics Quality Index (SAQI) score. This patented, non-invasive method allows for the assessment of biological soil health without the need for physical soil samples or labor-intensive traditional techniques like digging worm pits. The device captures GPS-tagged audio samples, providing a scalable and standardized approach to measuring biodiversity and soil activity levels.

The company serves farmers, agronomists, land managers, and conservationists, offering a practical solution for monitoring the impact of regenerative agriculture practices and land management decisions. By providing rapid, cloud-based insights into soil biology, the tool helps customers track the effectiveness of interventions, support sustainability targets, and provide evidence for schemes such as the UK Sustainable Farming Incentive. Developed through research projects funded by DEFRA and in partnership with the University of Warwick, Soil Acoustics operates on a subscription-based service model, providing users with access to data analysis portals, support, and the necessary hardware to implement these monitoring practices across diverse agricultural and ecological projects globally.