TerraRad Tech

TerraRad Tech is a Swiss environmental remote-sensing company founded in 2020 and headquartered in Zurich. It is a spinoff from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), which sits within the ETH Zürich domain, and it builds its business on decades of research in Earth observation and remote sensing. The company develops ground-based and mobile systems that apply passive microwave technology — a sensing method more commonly associated with Earth-observation satellites — to measure subsurface soil and vegetation water content at high resolution. TerraRad's product family includes turfRad, PoLRa and supporting software that converts raw moisture data into actionable, high-resolution maps. At the core of the technology is a portable L-band radiometer built on the same passive remote-sensing principles used by satellites such as ESA's SMOS and NASA's SMAP. The company positions its sensors as bringing satellite-grade accuracy to field-scale measurement, serving turfgrass management, agriculture, construction and civil engineering, and environmental and scientific research. The company states that its systems have been deployed on five continents, from the Amazon to Antarctica, for scientific, agricultural and environmental applications. Its stated mission is to provide advanced soil-moisture mapping solutions that conserve natural resources and optimize environmental conditions, helping customers make data-driven decisions that promote sustainability and efficiency. TerraRad is led by a founding management team with backgrounds spanning remote sensing, aerospace engineering, hardware, agronomy and software. Derek Houtz serves as CEO and co-founder, Robert Sedin as COO and co-founder, Lars Horvath as CTO and co-founder, and Stefan Kammerlander as CFO. The team is based in Zurich and draws together experts from around the world. As a privately held startup, TerraRad markets itself as 'Made in Switzerland' and emphasizes its research-institution roots as a source of technical credibility.

TerraRad Tech was founded in 2020 as a spinoff from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), an institution within the ETH Zürich domain. The company's origins lie in decades of research in Earth observation and remote sensing conducted at WSL, and its founding team sought to commercialize that research by developing ground-based and mobile instruments that apply passive microwave sensing — a technique more commonly used aboard satellites — to measure soil and vegetation moisture at high resolution. From its base in Zurich, TerraRad built a product line around a portable L-band radiometer that follows the same passive remote-sensing principles as ESA's SMOS and NASA's SMAP satellite missions. The company packaged this sensor technology into named offerings, including turfRad for turfgrass management and PoLRa, together with supporting software that turns raw moisture readings into actionable maps. It markets these systems to turfgrass managers, agricultural operators, construction and civil-engineering professionals, and environmental researchers. According to the company, TerraRad systems have been deployed on five continents, from the Amazon to Antarctica, supporting scientific, agricultural and environmental applications. The company describes itself as a growing startup with a mission to provide advanced soil-moisture mapping solutions that conserve natural resources and optimize environmental conditions. Its team, based in Zurich, combines business professionals, hardware engineers, agronomists and software developers, and its management includes CEO and co-founder Derek Houtz, COO and co-founder Robert Sedin, CTO and co-founder Lars Horvath, and CFO Stefan Kammerlander. TerraRad presents itself as 'Made in Switzerland' and emphasizes its research-institution roots as a foundation for innovation in Earth observation and remote sensing.

• 2020

  TerraRad Tech founded as a spinoff from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) in the ETH Zürich domain.

• Developed portable L-band radiometer technology based on passive remote-sensing principles used by ESA's SMOS and NASA's SMAP satellites.

• Launched turfRad and PoLRa product lines with supporting moisture-mapping software.

• TerraRad systems deployed on five continents, from the Amazon to Antarctica.

High-resolution, satellite-grade passive microwave soil moisture mapping for turfgrass, agriculture, construction and research, made in Switzerland.

• turfRad

  Moisture mapping system for turfgrass management, helping optimize playing conditions and save resources.

• PoLRa

  TerraRad product line for high-resolution soil moisture mapping.

• Portable L-band radiometer

  Core sensor technology applying passive microwave principles used by Earth-observation satellites.

• Moisture mapping software

  Software that turns raw moisture data into actionable, high-resolution maps.

1. 1TerraRad | Advanced Soil Moisture Mappingterraradtech.com
2. 2About TerraRad Tech | Get to know our Storyterraradtech.com
3. 3TerraRad Tech (Switzerland) - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4About TerraRad Tech | Get to know our Storyterraradtech.com