I think 2023 will go down in history as one of the fastest years on record. It was January, I was still struggling to turn my 2’s into 3’s whenever I wrote the date, I blinked, and here we are readying for the holidays. Again.
I wanted to slow things down for a second and look back on the past twelve months. It has been a great year for tech, not only in our company, but the world, and GroupGets has never been prouder to be a part of the tech community. 2023 saw breakthroughs in multiple industries, including VR for physical therapy rehabilitation, a smart bandage that intelligently switches between elastic and non-elastic states to help avoid injury, and even a handheld skin cancer detection system that uses machine learning. From cyber security to a new jet fuel made from CO2, technology has advanced leaps and bounds this year.
We shipped to 51 countries this year, with the top five being the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Australia. That’s just from our store, not to mention all of the crowdfunding purchases. But we don’t want to give love only to the top five; here are some countries that made it on the list with one order each - we see you.
Argentina, Ukraine, Croatia, Lithuania, Ecuador, and the Philippines. Thanks for supporting us and our community - and we hope to see you again soon.
Our platform has been active this year - with 25 successful campaigns, 2 waiting to ship, and 10 in progress.
These include some amazing new electronic products, including our very own PureThermal Micro Breakout Board (pictured above) for the Teledyne FLIR Lepton LWIR camera core, which came onto the scene as the smallest of the PureThermal family, measuring just 12.2mm x 14mm. It is nearly as compact as the Lepton itself. Mainly created as a flex by one of our engineers (to see just how small we could make it) this little guy has already found itself in some amazing real-world applications.
Talking about Leptons, this year saw the debut of the Teledyne FLIR Lepton 3.1R, the world’s first radiometric thermal camera module with a 95-degree field of view (FOV), 160 x 120 resolution, and a scene dynamic range of up to 400 degrees Celsius. Above you can see the huge difference the larger FOV makes.
Finally the Open Acoustic Devices team, based in the UK, blessed us with a new addition to the AudioMoth family; the AudioMoth USB Microphone. It streams audible and ultrasonic frequencies via USB and is designed to specifically run using the free AudioMoth Live App and using the AudioMoth USB Microphone firmware. Plus, unlike most Christmas presents, it doesn't require batteries.
Records show you guys couldn’t get enough AudioMoths - 6 separate campaigns opened and closed this year, which resulted in a MASSIVE amount of units backed by members of our community! As usual, the other moths were hot on its tail. The HydroMoth and MicroMoth each had two campaigns close, and each have a campaign active at the time of writing this (links above).
We are excited to see the CORE-V MCU Dev Kit (right) become a reality, as well as the long-awaited SnapperGPS receiver (left), a tiny, low-power GNSS receiver for non-real-time wildlife tracking - another win for conservation technology.
In our search for new, innovative technology, GroupGets and DigiKey teamed up this year to launch the GetMade Program. This initiative is set up to help makers bring their product to market, with assistance in manufacturing, marketing, and even funding for eligible products. There has never been a better time to take the leap and show the world what you’ve made.
In addition to the GetMade initiative, 2023 saw the introduction of GroupFund - a new crowdfunding platform for research and development. A GroupFund is a great way to raise funds without having to create and ship a physical product - it is even used to finance research explorations or expeditions to deploy conservation technology in the wild. If you’re interested, more info can be found here, or the GroupFund link above.
Listen & watch the retrieval of an AudioMoth: Media by Alas23
Campaigns aren’t the only thing that’s been rolled out this year. We’ve been active on our blog - publishing pieces that range from interviews, to articles, and even our monthly newsletters - so you never miss a chance to catch up on GroupGets news.
If you’re interested in the Closed-loop Spectroscopy Lab, you should check out our interview with its creator, Sterling Baird. His Light-mixing Demo kit had three successful campaigns this year - go Sterling!
Not only that, but we highlighted several products our customers love to use, including the aquatic audio logger, the HydroMoth; the “Junky FLIR For the Masses,” the FLIR Lepton FS; and the workhorse Lepton board, the PureThermal 3.
We tried to clear up some confusion with an article dedicated to the Teledyne FLIR Boson Cameras, to help you identify which thermal camera module is best for your project, and why. In it we help determine what makes a good thermal camera, and what aspects to look for to suit your needs.
Towards the end of the year we decided to focus on conservation technology - what types are available for researchers and conservationists? How are others utilizing tech for the good of the planet? We found some fantastic projects taking place around the world, such as the Mossy Earth team and their goal of “rewilding” the planet.
From camera traps to biodiversity mapping software, we dove into the world of AI to answer the question: how is artificial intelligence impacting conservation? That article goes over a few of the ways AI is being used to assist researchers and conservationists. From saving bears in Romania, to stopping poachers in Zambia, there’s no telling the ways AI can help us protect the world.
Our lead hardware engineer, Griffin, has been uploading some videos to our YouTube that range from tips on how to flash your PureThermal Lepton board, to clips introducing the PureThermal Micro and the Lepton 3.1R. On our YouTube we also have a video series called “Thermal This,” which showcases different objects and situations through a thermal lens - if you’re interested in thermal imaging you’ll want to swing by and check them out. We can’t wait to see what Griffin comes up with next.
woodleywonderworks, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
So as the year comes to an end, we at GroupGets want to say thank you. Our loyal customers, both to the campaigns and to the store, have stuck with us for a decade now. We wouldn’t be here without you, and we want you to know that we appreciate you.
We hope to see you again in 2024, for more campaigns, more articles, and of course, more tech. Happy holidays, and have a very happy New Year!