What JB Hyperspectral Devices does

JB Hyperspectral Devices GmbH, founded in 2016 and headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany, designs and manufactures hyperspectral field instruments for environmental and Earth-observation research. The company sells four core products — FloX (solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence), RoX (visible reflectance), NoX (NIR reflectance up to 1650 nm), and JB COS (proprietary cosine receptor) — built around Ocean Optics spectrometer cores (QEPro, Flame, NIRQuest) with proprietary temperature-controlled housings and automated acquisition. It also offers integrated variants for airborne and aquatic deployment, including AirFloX (balloon/UAV), Air-RoX (drone-integrated), Water RoX (buoy-mounted), and FloX Plane, each adapted for multi-scale validation of satellite observations. Data processing is supported through an open-source R-package co-developed with the Max Planck Institute and the University of Milano Bicocca.

The company sells instruments directly to universities, government research institutes, and space agencies, with a quote-based pricing model, 1–3 month delivery, and optional installation and integration services. It participates in multiple ESA-funded programs (DEFLOX, AtmoFlex, FRM4FLUO, CarbonARA) and EC H2020-MSCA projects (COSIF, ReSPEc), plus the German mFUND/BMVI mDRONES4Rivers consortium, which together serve as both revenue channels and institutional validation mechanisms. Its customer base of 50+ research institutions spans Europe, North America, South America (Brazilian Amazon), Africa (Kenya), and polar regions, with instruments deployed in vegetation, water quality, cryosphere, and atmospheric research.

Operationally, JB is a compact, founder-led company with approximately 10 staff across offices in Düsseldorf (HQ), Grevenbroich (manufacturing), and Milano (representative). There is no disclosed venture capital, no parent company, and no external ownership beyond founders Andreas Burkart and Tommaso Julitta. Revenue is generated from hardware sales, custom engineering services, and project-based grant funding, with no publicly disclosed pricing or financial figures.

Name

JB Hyperspectral Devices

Legal name

JB Hyperspectral Devices GmbH

Website

https://jb-hyperspectral.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

JB Hyperspectral Devices GmbH designs and manufactures hyperspectral field spectrometers (FloX, RoX, NoX, JB COS) for vegetation, water, cryosphere, and atmospheric research, selling direct to universities, research institutes, and space agencies including ESA and NASA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hyperspectral Field Spectroscopy Instruments

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals (334515)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Process Analytical Instrumentation (Gas analyzers, spectroscopy, pH/ORP, conductivity) (IMAGAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mass Spectrometry & Spectroscopy Instruments (HLAGAIAB), Remote Sensing & Imaging (Satellite, UAV/Drone, Aerial, Multispectral/Hyperspectral) (AFAGALAC)

Keywords

• Hyperspectral field spectroscopy
• Solar-induced fluorescence
• Remote sensing instruments
• Environmental monitoring equipment
• Field spectroscopy devices

Headquarters

HQ city

Düsseldorf

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hyperspectral Field Instruments: Sale of specialized field spectroscopy instruments (FloX, RoX, NoX, JB COS) and accessories (fiber optics, dust protection, solar panels, batteries). Instruments are custom-built for long-term outdoor deployment and sold directly to research institutions. Delivery time 1–3 months.
2. Custom Engineering & Integration Services: Custom instrument development and integration services for specialized research applications, including solar trackers, drone-mounted spectrometers (Air-RoX, FloX Plane), balloon-mounted systems (AirFloX), and water buoy deployments. Includes installation and commissioning services.
3. ESA Research Project Collaboration: Participation in ESA-funded projects (DEFLOX, AtmoFlex, FRM4FLUO) providing technical assistance, ground-based instrument deployment, and data collection for satellite mission validation. Funded by European Space Agency within research frameworks.
4. EC H2020 Research Grants: Participation in European Commission Horizon 2020 research projects including COSIF (Carbonyl sulfide and SIF analysis) and ReSPEc (Photosynthetic energy balance estimation), providing instruments and expertise within MSCA frameworks.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

JB Hyperspectral Devices designs and manufactures hyperspectral field spectroscopy instruments (FloX, RoX, NoX, JB COS) for continuous, unattended measurement of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), reflectance, and radiance in outdoor research environments. Instruments are built on Ocean Optics spectrometers integrated into proprietary temperature-controlled housings with custom cosine receptors, and are sold to universities, research centres, and space agencies for vegetation, water quality, snow, and atmospheric monitoring. The company also offers custom engineering services for drone, balloon, buoy, and aircraft integration.

Product overview

JB Hyperspectral Devices offers a suite of hyperspectral field instruments designed for environmental research and monitoring. The core product line consists of three spectroscopy systems: FloX (Fluorescence Box) for chlorophyll fluorescence measurement, RoX (Reflectance Box) for reflectance measurements in the visible-NIR range, and NOX (NIR Reflectance Box) which extends into near-infrared up to 1650 nm. These modular systems share common architecture including upward/downward channels for irradiance and radiance measurement, temperature-controlled housings, and automated data acquisition. Supporting accessories include JB COS cosine receptors for solar irradiance measurement, with variants like AirFloX for drone/balloon deployment, Air-RoX for aerial surveys, and Water RoX for aquatic monitoring. Data processing is handled via open-source R packages with GUI support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FloX (Fluorescence Box)

Quantifiable outcome

• Signal-to-noise ratio of 1000 for FloX instruments
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Forschungszentrum Jülich (IBG-2: Plant Sciences)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration on hyperspectral field spectrometer development. JB instruments evolved from Jülich prototypes (MRI, SFLUOR box, SIF-System). SPECY routines form the basis of JB FloX and RoX software. Jülich operates the HyPlant airborne imaging spectrometer used in ESA FLEX validation campaigns.
• University of Milano Bicocca (LTDA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on remote sensing of environmental dynamics. Joint development of R-package for FloX/RoX data processing. Shared field deployment sites (Torgnon snow site, Kenya savannah, Leipzig crane, Brazilian Amazon). Professor Roberto Colombo and researchers Tommaso Julitta, Sergio Cogliati, and others involved.
• European Space Agency (ESA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESA is JB Hyperspectral's most significant institutional partner. JB participates in multiple ESA contracts and projects: DEFLOX (technical assistance for ground-based FLEX instruments), AtmoFlex (FloX data deployment and collection), FRM4FLUO (FLEX mission validation, 2025). JB also developed LED reference panels for HyPlant airborne validation.
• Max Planck InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative development of open-source R-package for FloX data processing. The package is available on GitHub and is wrapped with a graphical user interface for non-expert use.
• European Commission (H2020-MSCA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJB participates in two H2020-MSCA projects: COSIF (joint analysis of Carbonyl sulfide and sun-induced fluorescence for understanding terrestrial carbon cycling) and ReSPEc (Remotely Sensed estimation of the Photosynthetic Energy balance).
• CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Italy)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCNR-IREA collaborated on the Water RoX buoy system (with Dario Manca), and CNR-IRA, ISMAR, and ISP divisions are listed as customer/institutional collaborators. CNR involved in FRM4FLUO validation campaign.
• mDRONES4Rivers Consortium (GEOCOPTIX, Federal Institute of Hydrology bfg, University of Koblenz)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported by German mFUND/BMVI research funding. Four partners (GEOCOPTIX, Federal Institute of Hydrology, University of Koblenz, and JB) developing new drone and gyrocopter-based remote sensing solutions for water street monitoring, paired with ground-based spectral surveys using RoX instruments.
• GEOCOPTIXminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in mDRONES4Rivers project for water street remote sensing. Provides geospatial expertise and drone/gyrocopter integration.
• ARPA Val d'AostaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional environmental protection agency managing the Torgnon experimental site (2400 m a.s.l.) where a RoX has been continuously monitoring snow and grassland since 2017. Collaboration with University of Milano Bicocca.
• National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCEO is leading the European Space Agency's CarbonARA (Carbon Amazon Rainforest Airborne) project. JB Hyperspectral Devices is part of the ground-based measurements team, installing FloX instruments at primary and secondary forest sites in the Brazilian Amazon.
• King's College LondonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead of the CarbonARA Amazon project (with NCEO and ESA). Also collaborated on eddy covariance studies at ILRI Mazingira Centre in Kenya where FloX was deployed. Provides scientific expertise and field infrastructure.
• Kai Wittneben (Aeromedes)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUAV development and deployment specialist. Designed the FloX Plane, a specialized aircraft for flying hyperspectral sensors above the atmospheric boundary layer, manufactured in collaboration with JB.
• CNR-IREA (Dario Manca)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesigned and manages the buoy system for the Water RoX deployment in Lake Maggiore, Italy. Customized the buoy for continuous unattended hyperspectral measurements of water bodies.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Malvern Panalytical (ASD Inc.): ASD FieldSpec spectroradiometers are the historical workhorse in vegetation remote sensing; Malvern Panalytical is a large established instrumentation vendor and a broader incumbent competitor to JB in hyperspectral field measurement.
• LI-COR Biosciences: LI-COR is a larger, established life-science instrumentation vendor whose gas exchange and plant science instruments (e.g., LI-6800) serve the same plant physiology research labs as JB's FloX.

Emerging players

• Apogee Instruments: Apogee makes environmental sensors used in agriculture, climate, and atmospheric research; while less specialized in full hyperspectral, its products overlap with JB in plant science and environmental monitoring deployments.

Direct peers

• PP Systems: PP Systems supplies field instruments for plant physiology and canopy research (e.g., UniSpec, CIRAS), serving the same university lab and fluorescence research buyer as JB's FloX.
• Spectra Vista Corporation (SVC): SVC manufactures field portable spectroradiometers (HR-1024i, HR-768i) used in vegetation and remote-sensing research — a direct competitor to JB's FloX/RoX in the same university and government research customer base.
• TriOS Optical Sensors: TriOS manufactures in-situ optical sensors for water quality monitoring — directly comparable to JB's Water RoX buoy system for hyperspectral water measurements in environmental and aquatic monitoring markets.
• Spectral Evolution: Spectral Evolution builds portable and field spectroradiometers and full-range UV/VIS/NIR/SWIR instruments for environmental and remote-sensing applications, overlapping directly with JB's hyperspectral field deployments.

Others

• Campbell Scientific: Campbell Scientific provides data loggers and environmental measurement systems widely deployed alongside field spectrometers; a complementary infrastructure provider rather than direct competitor, but serves the same research customer segment.
• Ocean Insight (formerly Ocean Optics): Ocean Insight is JB's core spectrometer component supplier (QEPro, Flame, NIRQuest) and also sells modular spectrometers and hyperspectral systems to adjacent OEM and research customers.
• Heitronics / Kipp & Zonen (OTT HydroMet): Kipp & Zonen manufactures radiometric and solar irradiance instruments commonly used in the same environmental monitoring networks; not a direct FloX competitor but a complementary supplier in the same research procurement context.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/JBHyperspectral
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jb-hyperspectral-devices-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

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 JB Hyperspectral Devices