Photrack
Photrack AG is a Swiss company that provides non-contact, image-based water flow monitoring systems using its patented Surface Structure Image Velocimetry (SSIV) technology, serving water management authorities, irrigation districts, wastewater plants, and research institutions through direct sales and the SEBA Hydrometrie distribution network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersZürich, Switzerland
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Photrack does
Photrack AG is a Swiss company founded in 2012 and headquartered in Zürich, specializing in non-contact, image-based water flow monitoring. The company has developed and patented Surface Structure Image Velocimetry (SSIV), a computer vision method that measures water surface velocity by cross-correlating natural surface structures in video footage, then derives discharge by integrating the vertical velocity profile using a physical mixing length model. This approach eliminates the need for tracers, in-water sensors, or expensive civil works, addressing persistent maintenance and fouling problems of traditional immersed-sensor flow measurement.
The product portfolio spans enterprise to entry-level price points. DischargeKeeper is the flagship continuous monitoring system combining an IP camera, infrared beamer, and processing transducer with GPRS transmission; it has reached Technology Readiness Level 9 and has been validated on the 100m-wide Rhine river. Supporting products include LevelKeeper (optical water level), DischargeApp (smartphone-based on-demand measurement), DischargeUAV (drone-based measurement), DischargeWeb (cloud video processing), DischargeDataHub (data management and visualization), ptBox (low-cost Raspberry Pi-based modular hardware), and BODOQUE (TinyML-based edge system for ephemeral streams). The company also has research-stage work in multispectral machine learning for non-contact wastewater quality monitoring.
Photrack serves water management authorities, irrigation districts, environmental research institutions, and wastewater treatment plants. Distribution combines direct sales with a core channel partnership through SEBA Hydrometrie for the DischargeKeeper line, complemented by self-serve cloud platforms and mobile app distribution. Revenue streams include hardware sales, cloud subscriptions (DischargeDataHub, DischargeWeb), and one-time mobile app licensing. The team is led by two PhD founders, Beat Lüthi (Mechanical Engineering) and Salvador Peña Haro (Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering). The company is founder-owned, with no disclosed external funding, and has established credibility through peer-reviewed publications and participation in international research consortia including TEMBO, Catch-Mekong, SmartLagoon, Riverscape, FloodX, and iMoMo.
Photrack firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Photrack
- Legal name
- Photrack AG
- Website
- https://photrack.ch
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Photrack AG is a Swiss company that provides non-contact, image-based water flow monitoring systems using its patented Surface Structure Image Velocimetry (SSIV) technology, serving water management authorities, irrigation districts, wastewater plants, and research institutions through direct sales and the SEBA Hydrometrie distribution network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Photrack industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Hydrometric Monitoring Systems
- NAICS
- Totalizing Fluid Meter and Counting Device Manufacturing (334514)
- SIC
- Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Totalizing Fluid Meters & Counting Devices (3824)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Water & Wastewater Utility IoT (SCADA, Leak/Quality Monitoring) (EUADAPAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Online Monitoring, Sensors & Instrumentation (SCADA-integrated analyzers, probes, samplers) (EUANAJAC), Irrigation Monitoring & Sensors (Flow/Pressure Meters, Soil Moisture, Water Quality Sensors) (AFABAHAJ)
Keywords
Where Photrack is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Zürich
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Photrack business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Hardware Systems (DischargeKeeper, ptBox): Sale of image-based monitoring hardware including IP cameras, processing units, infrared beamers, and the ptBox modular platform. Hardware provides continuous or periodic flow monitoring capabilities.
- Cloud Platform Services (DischargeDataHub): Web-based data management and visualization platform for organizing stations, users, and measurement data. Supports organization-level data management with private/public access controls.
- Video Processing Services (DischargeWeb): Web-based video processing platform for calculating discharge from video recordings. Can be used to reprocess videos and remotely configure stations.
- Mobile Application (DischargeApp): Smartphone application for field discharge measurements. Enables rapid site setup and on-demand flow measurement without data connection dependency.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise continuous monitoring (DischargeKeeper) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Photrack product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Photrack develops and sells non-contact, image-based water flow monitoring solutions built around its patented Surface Structure Image Velocimetry (SSIV) technology. The portfolio spans the DischargeKeeper continuous monitoring station (IP camera + processing unit with IR lighting), the LevelKeeper optical water level sensor, the DischargeApp smartphone application for on-demand measurements, the DischargeUAV drone-based system, the DischargeDataHub cloud platform for data management, DischargeWeb for video processing, and the low-cost ptBox modular hardware platform. These offerings allow water management authorities, irrigation districts, environmental researchers, and wastewater operators to measure discharge without tracers or in-water sensors.
Product overview
Photrack offers a modular flow monitoring platform centered on Surface Structure Image Velocimetry (SSIV) technology for non-contact water measurement. The core product is DischargeKeeper, a continuous monitoring system that uses image-based velocimetry to measure water level, velocity, and discharge without tracers. Supporting products include LevelKeeper (optical water level), DischargeApp (smartphone measurement), DischargeUAV (drone-based measurement), and DischargeWeb (video processing). DischargeDataHub serves as the centralized data management platform, while ptBox provides modular hardware for field deployments.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- DischargeKeeper: Image-based system for continuous monitoring of flow velocity profiles, water levels and flow rates in natural water streams, irrigation furrows and waste water channels.
- LevelKeeper
- DischargeApp
- DischargeUAV
- DischargeWeb
- DischargeDataHub
- ptBox
Products and services
- DischargeKeeper Image-based continuous monitoring system for flow velocity profiles, water levels, and flow rates in rivers, irrigation channels, and wastewater channels. Consists of an IP camera, infrared beamer, and measuring transducer with remote data transmission (e.g., GPRS).
- LevelKeeper Optical system for continuous water level measurement without a staff gauge, using camera-based detection at the bank-water interface. Equipped with IR lighting for day/night measurements and SMS/email alarm notifications.
- DischargeApp Smartphone application for on-demand discharge measurement using SSIV technology. Records short videos and processes them locally, requiring no data connection during measurement.
- DischargeUAV UAV/drone-based discharge measurement solution applying the SSIV algorithm to stabilized aerial video footage to extract surface flow velocity.
- DischargeWeb Web-based application for processing videos to calculate discharge. Can reprocess videos from DischargeApp, DischargeKeeper, or any camera including drones, and enables remote configuration of monitoring stations.
- DischargeDataHub Web application for visualizing and managing stations, users, and measurement data from DischargeApp and DischargeKeeper. Includes data validation, rating curve fitting, and organization-based data storage with private/public access controls.
- ptBox Low-cost modular hardware platform based on Raspberry Pi for image acquisition and processing. Includes camera, power management module, and LTE modem; can host DischargeKeeperLight software and offers an API for hardware interaction.
Quantifiable outcome
- 8.4 m³/s RMSE compared to official values, representing 4.4% relative difference in Rhine river deployment (100m wide)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Photrack
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Photrack technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability6 records
Feature7 records
Photrack partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- SEBA HydrometriecoreSEBA Hydrometrie serves as the official distribution partner for DischargeKeeper systems. This channel partnership enables wide distribution of Photrack's flagship continuous monitoring product through SEBA's established hydrometrie equipment distribution network globally.
- TEMBO (Africa)minorCollaboration in the TEMBO project aimed at closing environmental in-situ data gaps in Africa through cost-effective innovative sensor networks financed by climate services.
- SmartLagoonminorInnovative modelling approaches for predicting socio-environmental evolution in highly anthropized coastal lagoons.
- Catch-MekongminorResearch collaboration providing innovative technologies for sustainable and transboundary management of natural water and land resources in the Mekong Delta.
- Riverscape (DTU)minorCollaboration with Technical University of Denmark on monitoring rivers and streams with unmanned aerial systems for ecological status determination.
- FloodX (EAWAG)minorPartnership with Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology on open access urban flooding experiments with alternative data acquisition methods.
- iMoMo (Innovative Mobile Crowd-sensing)minorLow-cost, high-tech mobile crowd-sensing of water data through innovative approaches.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Photrack competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Photrack social profiles
Digital presencePhotrack financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Photrack leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Photrack funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Photrack M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Photrack
What does Photrack do?
Photrack develops and sells non-contact, image-based water flow monitoring solutions built around its patented Surface Structure Image Velocimetry (SSIV) technology. The portfolio spans the DischargeKeeper continuous monitoring station (IP camera + processing unit with IR lighting), the LevelKeeper optical water level sensor, the DischargeApp smartphone application for on-demand measurements, the DischargeUAV drone-based system, the DischargeDataHub cloud platform for data management, DischargeWeb for video processing, and the low-cost ptBox modular hardware platform. These offerings allow water management authorities, irrigation districts, environmental researchers, and wastewater operators to measure discharge without tracers or in-water sensors.
Is Photrack a public or private company?
Photrack is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Photrack founded?
Photrack was founded in 2012.
Where is Photrack based?
Photrack is headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Photrack make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Hardware Systems (DischargeKeeper, ptBox) is the primary driver. The others are cloud Platform Services (DischargeDataHub), video Processing Services (DischargeWeb) and mobile Application (DischargeApp).
Does Photrack have an API?
No public API is recorded for Photrack.
What industry is Photrack in?
Photrack's product category is Hydrometric Monitoring Systems. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUADAPAK, Water & Wastewater Utility IoT (SCADA, Leak/Quality Monitoring), with a secondary code of EUANAJAC, Online Monitoring, Sensors & Instrumentation (SCADA-integrated analyzers, probes, samplers). Its NAICS code is 334514 and its SIC code is 3823.