It aims to observe the B-mode polarisation signal from inflation in the early universe.

[2] The name 'GroundBIRD' indicates that the telescope is ground-based, while BIRD stands for B-mode Imaging Radiation Detector.

[2] The experiment uses microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs),[4] which are cooled to 250mK by a sorption cooler within the cryostat, which uses helium-3, and was manufactured by Chase Research Cryogenics Ltd.[2] The signals from the detector are multiplexed, and around 100 detectors can be measured in both phase and amplitude with a single digital read-out system with a bandwidth of 200MHz, recording 1,000 samples per second.

The digital system uses 12-bit ADCs and a Kintex-7 FPGA from Xilinx initially,[4] and now uses Kintex ultrascale FPGAs.

While it was originally intended that it would observe from the Atacama Desert in Chile,[6] an agreement to install it at Teide Observatory was reached in 2016,[8][1][9] at an altitude of 2,400 metres (7,900 ft).

[7] In February 2020, the experiment was visited by Kenji Hiramatsu, the Japanese Ambassador to Spain.