Important Mothbox Unique Name Change with latest firmware!
Firmware release 5.2.1! (and version 4.18.1 for DIY with same features).
The latest firmware has been quite solid to use, but we found one weird bug in how we were hashing the Pi’s serial number to generate unique names for the mothboxes. We fixed that bug, and so now you are much less likely to get two mothboxes with the same name (You should now have 1 in couple million chance of getting two mothboxes both named something like “FuerteFrog”).
The only thing to note is that your mothbox’s unique auto name will change. So, apologies if you, like many of us, have grown attached to your mothbox’s funky name, but hopefully the new one will be fun too! You can also always just change the name yourself manually in the Mothbox settings!
You can download the latest firmware now (for free, of course!)!
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1o3aGB1MZUrNxRoGycFVw_ofUQehrjuqF?usp=sharing
mothBOT is way easy to use now!
Our post-processing software is so much easier to use now! Instead of setting up a whole programming environment on your computer (“hacker mode”), we now have pre-compiled programs you can just download and double click to run! There are currently software downloads for windows, windows with CUDA, and MacOS. (The github actions is having problems with a linux version because it’s comes out about the 2GB limit, but we can bump this in priority if it is necessary for someone)
We also worked with the cool Pybioclip team this past week, and got the bioclip updated properly to the latest version to give much speedier AND accurate performance with Bioclip 2!
Upcoming mothBOT workshop in Serbia with Hubert!
At the InsectAI meeting in Serbia this week, Hubert will be there to show folks how he blasts through insect data with our open software!
Peruvian Mothboxes Making strides towards a “Mothbox Station!”
Stemming from our workshop at the ICTC conference in Peru, Matt and Alejandro and the team down at Manu Biostation having been working hard to build out new features for mothboxes that will have constant power and internet access. We anticipated this need and the Mothbox Pro’s even have a dedicated switch to activate this “Hi Power mode”, we just haven’t fully built out this feature yet. But these awesome folks have been doing great work towards this!
Check it out, they are even putting the Mothboxes up in the rainforest canopy!
Mothbox making with Imageomics!
Last week we got to go to the Imageomics conference which was a really special gathering of people doing computer vision and biological fieldwork! We gave some talks and workshops there for people to make mothboxes to sample at a nearby conservation site in Ohio (where they have a bunch of rhinos!), and to bring to the Imageomics field course in Hawaii!
They also made the most stylish mothboxes to date with gorgeous malibu pink PETG!
Have you used a mothbox? Send us some data and we will train the new model to work better for you!
Reminder, if you have a mothbox, or have collected data, send us some sample files (like under 200Mb)! We are about to start training a new detection model, and the more variety we have the more robust it will be!
Also we are making a map of where mothboxes are being used, if you are using one somewhere on earth, please fill out this form for us!
Full Documentation on Manufacturing your own PCBs!
We are so dang open source, we don’t just provide you with designs, we will even give you an incredibly detailed guide to how to turn those designs into a real electronics board with big manufacturing companies! Check out the guide and make your own boards if you want!
This level of open source detail is what we strive for because we just want more tools in the hands of people who want to use them! It’s also why the latest version of the Mothbox has even been recently certified open by the open hardware association!
Mothbox World Tour - Pacific Northwest
We just made it to Seattle and are spreading more Mothbox love as we travel around. We sent batteries and PCBs for 70 mothboxes ahead of us here to friends houses, and will be assembling and sending these out to folks as best we can while we are out here!
This week will be be helping run the Pathways to “Open-Source Hardware for Laboratory Automation” workshop, and I’ll be meeting with our Open Science Replicators in person who are auditing the Mothbox builds.
Then we will be visiting Eugene, OR, then Vancouver! (We have never been to Vancouver before, so if you are there, please get in touch!)
Then it’s off to Berlin next month! (to kick off the European part of the world tour!)
Open Hardware Summit - Berlin May 23-24
We will be doing a mothbox workshop and performance at TU Berlin! On top of the Mothbox stuff you can experience there, it’s a nice conference!
Nobody is turned away from the conference for lack of funds, and there’s so much fun talks and activities and people that will be there!
Mothboxing in Oceania? Contact Bri!
The rad mothboxin PhD student, Bri Johns, is helping coordinate getting a batch of supplies for making mothboxes to Australia and New Zealand area. If you want to get in on this with her, contact her: briannaljohns attt gmail commmm
Mothboxing in Europe? Contact Patrice!
Poor Patrice and everyone at psl3D unfortunately suffered a setback where they had a massive fire at their makerspace! Luckily everyone is ok, and they seem to be back on track building cool open source parts! But make sure to understand if some things might get delayed.
Also if you are in europe, we will be there probably with some extra PCBs and batteries in case you need devices ASAP!
Patrice at psl3D is helping organize distribute mothboxes and kits to europe
contact @ psl3d .fr
Mothboxing Elsewhere? Fill this form!
Fill out our interest form and we will start trying to contact folks individually and help get them to you!
https://forms.gle/BnBhjBC4csW4BwTE7