MoversSurvey Wins the IÖB-Challenge 2026

MoversSurvey makes geotechnical laboratory data speak: winning solution in the IÖB-Challenge of the TU Graz soil mechanics laboratory

The Institute of Soil Mechanics, Foundation Engineering and Computational Geotechnics at Graz University of Technology has decided: MoversSurvey is one of the three winning solutions in the IÖB-Challenge “Digital Future for Geotechnical Laboratory Data: Efficient, Structured, and Secure.” From seven submissions, the jury selected three concepts that were invited to the innovation dialogue – as a preliminary stage to a possible procurement project under the Austrian Federal Procurement Act (BVergG). MoversSurvey is one of them.

In an earlier article, we described the context: geotechnical laboratory data is the basis of every infrastructure project – and yet, in most organizations, it is neither captured in a structured way nor spatially accessible. This is precisely the gap MoversSurvey addresses.

The jury's evaluation criteria: why MoversSurvey convinced

The four-member jury – Matthias J. Rebhan and Hans Hafellner (TU Graz), Josef Weber (Dr. Sauer & Partner GmbH), and Thomas Pirkner – evaluated all submissions according to four weighted criteria: features & feasibility (30%), commercial fit and cost (30%), technological fit & security (25%), and references (15%).

The decisive advantage of MoversSurvey: the solution is not a concept study, but an application already in use. Configurable templates ensure ÖNORM-compliant minimum content. Flexible input via text, photo, or audio, integrated export functions (PDF, CSV), and differentiated user roles cover the complete laboratory process – from order intake to data provision. This measurably reduces implementation risk and strengthens both commercial and technological fit.

Spatial referencing at the core: the map as an organizing principle

What distinguishes MoversSurvey from pure laboratory information systems (LIMS) is its consistent spatial reference. Every sample, every test, every record is georeferenced – not as a metadata appendix, but as a primary organizing principle. The map is the heart of the application.

For the TU Graz soil mechanics laboratory, this is strategically relevant: the challenge brief explicitly names the development of new correlations and AI-supported evaluations as a goal – questions that presuppose spatial patterns and cross-site relationships. Without georeferencing, these analyses are not possible. Nor are they without structured capture. MoversSurvey delivers both.

Next steps: innovation dialogue and proof of concept with TU Graz

As one of the three winning solutions, we are taking part in the innovation dialogue with TU Graz: a structured market conversation in which solution approaches are deepened, requirements specified, and initial implementation scenarios developed. Winning companies may also be invited to a proof of concept (PoC) to verify technical feasibility on a real internal TU Graz project.

The IÖB-Challenge is not a competition – it is the structured entry into a public procurement process. In the event of success, an award under BVergG 2018 is on the table. For us, this confirms that MoversSurvey can play to its strengths not only in commercial projects, but also in the context of public research infrastructure.

Geotechnical laboratory data: the missing data world in BIM projects

Anyone planning infrastructure works in several data worlds at once: the IFC model (planner), GIS layers (geodata), CAFM (network operator), standards and permit documents (authority). As we described using the example of the BIM Lake on Lake Constance, media breaks, manual handovers, and information loss arise at every interface.

What is systematically missing from this picture: the subsurface. Geotechnical laboratory data – soil properties, test results, sample parameters – is the literal foundation of every structure and every infrastructure route. It exists entirely outside the data worlds mentioned: in PDF reports, Excel spreadsheets, project folders without spatial reference and without an interface to planning or GIS.

MoversSurvey closes this gap. Georeferenced, structured subsurface data becomes the fifth data world that has so far been missing from BIM processes. Previous ground investigations at neighbouring sites become searchable. Soil and subsurface parameters feed into spatial comparisons. The knowledge from thousands of laboratory tests – previously locked in reports – becomes part of the digital planning process. For teams who want to extend this data path further towards automated GIS analysis, Kermit GeoAI offers an optional extension.

FFG research experience in Styria: no coincidence

That MovingLayers could win over the Styrian soil mechanics laboratory of TU Graz has a background. We have worked for years as a consortium partner in FFG-funded research projects – including in Styria.

In the completed project ABM4EnergyTransition (FFG “AI for Green”, 2022–2024), together with the Energie Agentur Steiermark, the municipality of Kapfenberg, and the AEE Institute for Sustainable Technologies (Gleisdorf) as well as EPFL Lausanne, we developed an agent-based simulation approach for the municipal energy transition. The core of our contribution: preparing spatial geodata so that it supports planning decisions with regional impact – for administration, energy utilities, and policymakers alike.

This experience with heterogeneous consortia from research, administration, and industry – and with the specific requirements of Styrian institutions – is the basis on which we enter the innovation dialogue with TU Graz.

IÖB: how the public sector procures geotechnical innovation

The IÖB – Innovative Public Procurement Austria – uses the purchasing power of public institutions as a targeted innovation impulse. Instead of tendering finished software products, demand carriers such as TU Graz formulate concrete problem statements and invite companies to develop solutions. This brings innovative approaches onto the public buyer's procurement radar early on – and tenders can be formulated on the basis of genuine market exploration, rather than missing the reality of available solutions.

For MovingLayers, the challenge was the opportunity to show MoversSurvey in a structured public evaluation process: geotechnical requirements, normative frameworks, open-access requirements for research data – all in a proven solution.

MoversSurvey: capturing and managing geotechnical laboratory data in a structured way

MoversSurvey stands on its own: a mobile, offline-capable application for the structured capture, spatial referencing, and digital management of geotechnical laboratory data. No system change, no implementation project – MoversSurvey integrates into existing laboratory processes and delivers georeferenced, standards-compliant data from day one, reusable for expert opinions, tenders, and AI-supported follow-up projects.

You'll find all features, personas, and practical examples of the standard product compactly on the MoversSurvey MDE product page – the ideal starting point to check whether the solution fits your capture workflow.

If you still capture geotechnical laboratory data in Excel, PDF, or paper forms today – let's talk about how that could look different in your specific workflow.

→ Discover MoversSurvey MDE→ Download Whitepaper→ Arrange initial consultation

Reading tips

• MoversSurvey MDE: mobile field data capture – the standard product at a glance
• What the IÖB-Challenge shows for geotechnical laboratory data – context and background
• BIM, GIS and the missing data world: Kermit GeoAI from Tönning to Lake Constance
• Our winning solution on the IÖB Innovation Platform
• IÖB-Challenge TU Graz: Digital Future for Geotechnical Laboratory Data
• Whitepaper: Infrastructure planning with Kermit GeoAI