What SmartSolo does

SmartSolo Inc. (trading as SmartSolo Scientific) is a Calgary, Alberta-based designer and manufacturer of autonomous nodal seismic acquisition systems, founded in 1998. The company integrates geophone sensors, 32-bit digitizers, GPS timing, and data storage into single-unit wireless nodes that eliminate the cabling required by traditional seismic surveys. Its core product family spans the IGU-16 (single-component), IGU-16HR (high-resolution single-component), IGU-16HR 3C and IGU-16HR 3C 2Hz ETH (three-component), IGU-BD3C-5 (broadband 3-component seismograph), and the IMU-3C (3-channel real-time data logger). The portfolio is completed by a peripheral ecosystem (Data Manager/Collector Console software, Data Harvesting Rack, Battery Charging Rack, IGU Tester, Field Deployment Tool, Automatic Assembly/Disassembly Machine) and the SeisSolo cable-free landstreamer co-developed with Nordic Geophysics.

The company sells primarily through direct enterprise field sales, supported by a heavy presence at industry conferences (AGU, SSA, EAGE, PDAC, IMAGE), and has begun operating equipment rental services in North America. SmartSolo does not publish pricing; sales are quote-based with multi-year contracts for enterprise hardware and usage-based billing for rentals. Customer segments are organized by use case: oil, gas, and energy exploration; mineral resources; geothermal energy; academic research and government; engineering and geophysical exploration; carbon capture and storage; and mining safety/monitoring. Named customers include Sinopec, BGP, ACES, Carbon America, NodalSeismic, Southern Geoscience Consultants, and academic institutions such as Imperial College London, USTC, and the CAS Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry.

SmartSolo positions itself as a cost-effective, rugged alternative to cable-based systems, emphasizing a patented modular design (no exposed connector, easy battery replacement), IP68 environmental sealing, -40°C to +70°C operating range, and 25+ years of operating history with 550,000+ nodes delivered worldwide. Geographic reach spans North America, Asia Pacific (including a dedicated Chinese website at smartsolo.com.cn), Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company is privately held with no disclosed investors, funding rounds, or revenue figures; ownership appears to be founder or privately held, and no parent company is evidenced.

Name

SmartSolo

Legal name

SmartSolo Inc.

Website

https://smartsolo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

SmartSolo Scientific, founded 1998 in Calgary, designs and manufactures autonomous wireless nodal seismic acquisition systems and supporting peripherals for oil & gas exploration, mining, geothermal, CCS, and academic research customers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seismic acquisition instruments and geophysical exploration equipment

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360)

SIC

Oil & Gas Field Exploration Services (1382)

akta.pro primary industry

Seismic & Geoscience Services (Acquisition, Processing, Interpretation) (EUALABAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mineral Exploration & Geoscience Services (Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Resource Modeling) (IMAKAKAA)

Keywords

• Nodal seismic acquisition
• Seismic sensing equipment
• Geophysical instruments
• Cable-free seismograph nodes
• Subsurface exploration hardware

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Seismic Node Hardware Sales: SmartSolo generates revenue primarily from selling seismic nodal systems including IGU-16, IGU-16HR, IGU-16HR 3C, IGU-BD3C-5, IMU-3C, and SeisSolo landstreamer systems along with peripheral equipment.
2. Peripheral Equipment: Sales of complementary equipment including Data Harvesting Racks, Battery Charging Racks, IGU Testers, Field Deployment Tools, and auxiliary boxes for complete system operation.
3. Equipment Rental: SmartSolo offers rental services for seismic equipment, currently available in North America, providing flexible access to high-quality seismic instrumentation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SmartSolo designs, manufactures, and sells autonomous seismic sensor nodes and supporting peripherals that enable cable-free high-resolution seismic data acquisition for geophysical exploration. Its portfolio includes single- and three-component smart seismic nodes (IGU series, IGU-BD3C-5 broadband seismograph), the IMU-3C real-time monitoring unit, the SeisSolo landstreamer, and field peripherals (data harvesting racks, charging racks, testers, deployment tools). Products serve oil and gas, mineral, geothermal, academic research, and carbon capture use cases worldwide.

Product overview

SmartSolo Scientific is a provider of high-precision seismic instruments and solutions for geoscience and engineering. The product portfolio centers on a family of smart seismic sensor nodes (IGU-16, IGU-16HR, IGU-16HR 3C, IGU-BD3C-5) that integrate sensors, digitizers, batteries, GPS timing, and data storage into autonomous single-unit nodes for cable-free seismic data acquisition. Supporting the core nodes is a comprehensive ecosystem of peripherals including Data Manager Console (DMC) and Data Collector Console (DCC) server software for project setup and data offload; Data Harvesting Rack (DHR), Battery Charging Rack (BCR), and IGU Tester for field operations; Field Deployment Tool for RFID-based station matching; and portable options like the Portable Data Harvester (PDH) and Portable Battery Charger (PBC). The IMU-3C serves as a 3-channel intelligent monitoring unit/data logger with real-time transmission capabilities (4G, WiFi, Ethernet, Starlink, satellite). SeisSolo is a three-component nodal landstreamer for complex terrain exploration, developed in partnership with Nordic Geophysics. Products serve applications across oil and gas exploration, geological surveys, engineering investigation, geothermal energy, mineral exploration, and earthquake/volcanic monitoring.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IGU-16 Single-component smart seismic sensor with patented modular design for easy battery replacement, fast charging, and high-speed data downloading; rugged reliable node for geophysical exploration with 100-day operating life at 25°C at 1ms sampling in segmented mode.
• IGU-16HR High-resolution single-component smart seismic sensor with sampling up to 0.25ms, DT-SOLO 10Hz and 5Hz high-sensitivity sensor options, 70-day operating life in segmented mode, and built-in GPS receiver.
• IGU-16HR-IES High-resolution 1C smart seismic sensor with external sensor connection for accommodating various geophones, hydrophones, or other sensors; 16GB built-in non-volatile flash memory expandable to 32GB and 64-day operating life.
• IGU-16HR 3C Three-component smart seismic sensor with patented modular design and DT-SOLO HS 10Hz/5Hz geophone options, up to 30 days of continuous recording; designed for HVSR, MASW, and vibration analysis applications.
• IGU-16HR 3C 2Hz ETH High-resolution 3C seismic node with 2Hz natural frequency detection and Ethernet real-time data transmission using built-in DT-SOLO 2Hz geophone; IP68-rated with 40-day battery life offline and 7 days with Ethernet transmission; supports open data transmission protocol for integration.
• IGU-BD3C-5 Broadband integrated 3-component seismograph with corner frequency as low as 0.2Hz, 32-bit delta-sigma ADC, sampling up to 0.25ms, IP68 waterproof sensors, internal 64GB memory expandable to 128GB, and up to 30 days of continuous recording.
• IMU-3C 3-channel real-time seismic data logger supporting multiple power supply and data transmission options (Ethernet, 4G, WiFi, Starlink, satellite); designed for real-time geophysical monitoring in remote and harsh sites with 120 hours of real-time transmission per charge, 30 days offline logging, and solar-ready design.
• SeisSolo Three-Component Landstreamer Three-component nodal landstreamer integrating SmartSolo's nodal technology with Nordic Geophysics' landstreamer expertise; cable-free design, quick setup, rugged build tested up to 4 km, engineered for complex terrain exploration with high deployment efficiency and low environmental impact.
• Data Harvesting Rack (DHR) Field system for programming IGU-16 units and offloading seismic data including QC data; 32 slots, 20MB/s download speed per slot, with monitor for viewing connected IGU-16 status.
• Battery Charging Rack (BCR) Charging system for IGU-16 batteries with 48 slots, LED status indicators, fast charge mode (under 90%) and trickle charge (over 90%), with less than 3.25 hours charging time from fully discharged.
• SmartSolo Equipment Rental Program Rental service for SmartSolo seismic equipment offering flexible access to high-quality seismic instrumentation on a pay-as-you-go basis, currently available only in North America.

Quantifiable outcome

• Deployment of 4,500 nodes for 17,000-point seismic survey
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nordic GeophysicscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 September 2024Strategic partnership for co-development of SeisSolo, a revolutionary three-component landstreamer system. Combines SmartSolo's nodal technology with Nordic Geophysics' landstreamer expertise for high-deployment efficiency seismic exploration with minimal environmental impact.
• NodalSeismiccoreTechnology or IntegrationNodalSeismic uses SmartSolo nodes for 3D seismic projects and leads geophysical exploration for carbon capture projects including Carbon America's Project Eos for identifying carbon storage sites.
• Carbon AmericaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for carbon capture and storage (CCS) exploration projects. SmartSolo nodes and NodalSeismic lead geophysical exploration for identifying carbon storage sites.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• FairfieldNodal: US-based manufacturer of cable-free nodal seismic acquisition systems, including the ZLand family. Directly competes with SmartSolo's IGU-16/IGU-16HR nodes for oil & gas and mineral exploration customers on land.
• Geospace Technologies: Houston-based manufacturer of seismic instruments and equipment including geophones, hydrophones, and nodal acquisition systems. Competes with SmartSolo across seismic sensing hardware for exploration and monitoring customers.
• INOVA Geophysical: Geophysical acquisition equipment manufacturer built on the ION Geophysical/ARAM heritage and now a BGP subsidiary. Produces cable-free nodal systems and other acquisition equipment serving the same oil & gas and mineral exploration customers as SmartSolo.

Emerging players

• STRYDE: UK-based startup selling very low-cost, high-channel-count nodal seismic systems targeting emerging markets and smaller E&P operators. Overlaps with SmartSolo on the cable-free nodal value proposition but focuses on price-sensitive segments and rapid-scale deployments.

Broad incumbents

• PGS: Norwegian marine-focused geophysical company offering seismic services and equipment. Adjacent competitor to SmartSolo in marine seismic and ocean-bottom acquisition rather than land, but operates in the same exploration customer market and has begun marketing nodal/ocean-bottom technologies.
• Sercel: Subsidiary of CGG and the dominant global supplier of seismic acquisition equipment, including the UNITE nodal system family. Overlaps with SmartSolo across land and marine nodal acquisition but at much larger scale and with a broader portfolio.
• TGS (Magseis): TGS acquired Magseis Fairyeild in 2021 and now operates one of the largest ocean-bottom node (OBN) seismic acquisition fleets globally. Competes with SmartSolo's OBN node business at the equipment and service level and shares the same exploration customer base.
• CGG: French multi-geophysical company and parent of Sercel. Operates a full-stack offering — multi-physics imaging, seismic data library, and equipment — and competes with SmartSolo both as an equipment vendor via Sercel and through its own seismic acquisition services that deploy nodal systems.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smartsoloscientific
• Xx.com/SmartSoloInc
• Facebookfacebook.com/smartsoloscientific

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SmartSolo