Ribbit Network Q2 2025 Update: Solar Power & Global Workshops!
Ribbit Network Q2 2025 Update: Solar Power & Global Workshops!
Hey Ribbit Network community!
What a quarter it's been! As I write this, I'm still buzzing from all the incredible work our community has accomplished together. From designing the future of solar-powered sensors to teaching hands-on workshops across the globe, Q2 2025 has been packed with exciting developments.
🌞 Major Milestone: Solar-Powered Frog Sensors Are Here!
We have completed a massive challenge to design the electronics for a solar-powered version of our Frog sensors! This has been one of our most ambitious projects yet, and the results exceeded our expectations.
Working with the exceptional volunteers in our community through the Ribbit Hop Challenge, we've developed electronics that will allow our sensors to operate completely off-grid using solar power. This opens up incredible possibilities for deployments in remote locations, forests, and areas without reliable power infrastructure – exactly the places where we need climate data most.
The winning designs showcase innovative approaches to power management, energy efficiency, and robust outdoor operation. But here's the thing – this is just the beginning. We now need to move from prototype to reality.
🌍 Teaching Climate Science Around the World
A few weeks ago, I had the absolute joy of running a workshop at the Open Source Hardware Association Summit in Edinburgh. There's something magical about watching people's faces light up as they assemble their first Frog sensor and see real-time CO₂ data flowing from their device.
The workshop covered everything from 3D printing and electronics to embedded software and IoT fleet management. But more than the technical skills, I love seeing participants understand what it actually takes to deploy meaningful numbers of these sensors in the real world. Each person who builds a sensor becomes part of our global climate monitoring network.
The response was incredible, and I'm already planning more workshops. Running these events and teaching people about climate science, hardware design, and citizen science is honestly the best part of what we do.
🐸 What's Next: Your Support Needed
Here's where we need your help to make the next leap forward.
For Our Donors: The solar-powered sensor development is at a critical stage. While we have winning designs, we now need to fabricate larger quantities for real-world testing, iterate through several design improvements, and purchase batteries and solar panels for extensive field trials. Each prototype cycle costs thousands of dollars, but it brings us closer to sensors that can operate autonomously for years in remote locations.
If you're able to support the development of solar-powered Frog sensors, your donation will directly fund these next crucial steps.
For Our Engineers: We're organizing a working group to continue the electronics development for the solar sensor. This is hands-on, meaningful work that includes:
Validating and refining the electronic designs
Implementing and testing the embedded software
Designing robust mechanical enclosures for outdoor deployment
Field testing in diverse environments
Documentation and manufacturing preparation
If you have engineering experience and want to contribute to open-source climate technology, we'd love to have you join this effort. Reach out to us – whether you can contribute a few hours a month or want to dive in deeper, there's a place for you.
📊 By the Numbers This Quarter
1 major electronics design challenge completed with multiple winning solutions
1 international workshop delivered with hands-on sensor building
Dozens of new community members engaged in climate monitoring
100% open-source designs shared with the global community
🔗 Stay Connected
The momentum is building, and I can't wait to see where this community takes us next. Whether you're building sensors, contributing code, spreading the word, or supporting us financially, you're part of something bigger – a global network of citizen scientists working together on one of the most important challenges of our time.
Keep an eye out for more workshop announcements, and as always, if you have questions, ideas, or just want to chat about climate science and open hardware, don't hesitate to reach out.
Together, we're not just measuring climate change – we're empowering communities to understand and act on it.
🐸
Keenan Johnson
Founder, Ribbit Network
P.S. If you know anyone who might be interested in joining our mission, feel free to forward this update. The more Frogs in our network, the better picture we can create.
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