About Our Research and Development Programme
ICT International is the global leader in delivering soil, plant and environmental monitoring solutions. We are a science-led innovation company dedicated to developing practical tools, to solve real world problems.
ICT International products are specifically designed to be deployed in rugged and remote field environments, featuring environmentally sealed enclosures, low-power use, and IoT connectivity options, complete with firmware and software for detailed and sophisticated measurement and data processing in the field. The practical outcome being the accurate measurement of key plant and soil parameters for the advancement of plant and soil research to address: plant physiology limitations to water availability; climate change impacts on forest water use and global carbon storage; evaluation of plant breeding programs for water use efficiency; or the fundamental understanding of plant function.
The key products that have been developed on the original data logging platform and which now have IoT connectivity includes:
- SFM1x Sap Flow Meter for continuous monitoring of plant water use
- PSY1 Stem Psychrometer for continuous monitoring of plant water potential and leaf water potential
- HFD Heat Field Deformation Sap Flow Meter for measurement of radial sap flow profiles, hydraulic redistribution and hydraulic lift in response to plant water potential gradients.
The competitive innovative advantage of the encapsulated field experience, scientific knowledge, and engineering detail has resulted in instruments that are sought by leading plant scientists worldwide, and are recognised as the world’s best.
What Makes this Unique Product Line Innovative?
Behind the family of ICT International products is the underlying data logging platform, firmware, and software protocols that interface with an extensive sensor library in terms of measurement parameter and output protocol. The IoT communications protocols transmit data locally or globally across any communications network. This technologically advanced data logging platform has been proven to function in environmental extremes using low power.
The need to have sensors measure within a range of both relative and absolute terms, depending upon the fundamentals of the physical property being measured, is paramount for high accuracy, repeatability, and precision. To achieve correct levels of resolution from microvolt (µV) to nanovolt (nV), ICT International has developed solutions that range from simple to complex signal processing algorithms that can be included in onboard sensor microprocessors, and which require sophisticated output protocols to transmit digital data to dedicated logging solutions. Our digital data logging solutions eliminate analogue signal noise and provide onboard signal conditioning and noise filtering to achieve the highly stable thermal noise conditions under which a measurement requiring nanovolt (nV) resolution can be resolved in ambient field conditions.
The ICT International data logging platform is designed to accommodate all levels of sensor design, complexity, and measurement principle. This is achieved by integrating all input variables from simple analogue millivolt inputs through to complex measurements requiring point of measurement data processing. The data logging platform can integrate all these inputs into a single, easily accessed file such as CSV or JSON or an easily accessed cloud database.