Photon Systems Instruments

Photon Systems Instruments (PSI) is a high-tech scientific instruments manufacturer founded on September 12, 1994, and headquartered at Prumsylova 470, 664 24 Drasov, near Brno, Czech Republic. The company was founded by Martin Trtilek, who developed his first measurement device during his university studies in microelectronics in the early 1990s. PSI has specialized for over 25 years in the design and manufacture of sophisticated instrumentation for research in biological sciences, with particular expertise in optical signal measurement and imaging in plants and algae.

PSI is the world's first company to have commercialized a chlorophyll fluorescence imaging system. Its FluorCam product family comprises open and closed modular imaging systems that capture pulse-amplitude modulated (PAM) chlorophyll fluorescence kinetics across whole plants, seedlings, or leaf sections, providing data on photosynthetic capacity, physiological condition, stress response, and metabolic state. Variants include the Open FluorCam, Closed FluorCam, GFP-Cam for combined GFP and chlorophyll fluorescence imaging, and the Rover FluorCam — a mobile field unit for in-situ crop phenotyping.

The PlantScreen system line represents PSI's high-throughput automated plant phenotyping platform. PlantScreen Compact and Modular Systems offer laboratory and greenhouse configurations with expandable sensor modules; the PlantScreen Robotic XYZ System automates sample transport and multi-sensor imaging in a conveyor-based format; and the PlantScreen Field System enables large-scale outdoor phenotyping using mobile sensor carriers. Imaging sensors integrated into PlantScreen systems include fluorescence cameras, RGB cameras, hyperspectral sensors, and thermal imaging units.

Additional product lines include high-tech photobioreactors and algal cultivators for microalgae cultivation research, intelligent LED growth chambers and walk-in cultivation rooms with programmable light and climate control, and a range of handheld devices for field measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence, plant reflectance indices, and spectroradiometry. PSI instruments have been deployed in research institutions, universities, plant breeding companies, and space research facilities across Europe, North America, and Asia. The company maintains dedicated product divisions at plantphenotyping.com, fluorcams.psi.cz, photo-bio-reactors.com, growth-chambers.com, and hyperspec.org.