Testimonials:

From Lauren, an early adopter of our products and great scientist.

From:XXXX
To: Frank <frank@groupbinc.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2015 1:56 PM
Subject: Footage

Hi Frank,

I just wanted to pass along some exciting news from our SEASWAP project. As you know, we've been working with sperm whale depredation of longline fishing gear in the Gulf of Alaska for over a decade. This year our grant that allowed us to purchase your Scout housings to record videos also had a component where we collaborated with Hawaiian longliners. In Hawaii they have pelagic longline gear (mid-water) that targets tuna, and False Killer Whales are learning to take fish from their gear similar to our sperm whale problem in Alaska.

In January we sent 5 of our units to Hawaii to go out on a Hawaiian tuna longliner, and were able to record the "action" there. Upon the first review of the footage we discovered we had actually filmed a depredation event, which is really exciting from a scientific standpoint! I've attached a few still frames (screenshots) of the footage.

Just wanted to share the good news, since none of this would have been possible without the Scout housings!

-Lauren

Copyright SEASWAP, Funded NOAA Bycatch Reduction Program (BREP), Project/Award number NA12NMF4720253. Pics have been altered to show better contrast.

From a R&D Explosives Engineer (REDACTED per request)

From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

To: Frank
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2014 6:44 PM

Subject: Re: Groupbinc Custom Housings

Frank
Your camera housings performed very well during our recent blast testing. We modified your housings slightly by adding four threaded holes that allow the housing to be bolted directly to something. We also created some stakes out of 1" plate steel for the housings to be attached to. These stakes were driven into the ground near the site of the blast. We placed a piece of 0.25" thick rubber between the housing and the stake to reduce shock waves traveling from the ground to the camera. The system was very stable and showed no signs of damage at all after the test.

I have attached a partial screenshot from one of the videos, but unfortunately I cannot share any video or any of the details of the blast. The second camera was even closer than the camera that took the attached screenshot. The housings are strong enough that they could be placed closer to the blast, but then the video would be obscured by fire and smoke so the video would be pointless. Because the video we got from your housings was so good, we also used the housings to record other testing later in the week at the request of another engineer.
The most helpful information I can give you is that the housing withstood a reflected impulse of 130 psi-msec. Any other engineer with explosives knowledge will find that value helpful.
In summary, your products are very bomb resistant.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX

Another testimonial from a great up and coming marine scientist....

From: XXXXXX

To: Frank <frank@groupbinc.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2015 2:43 PM
Subject: Re: Scout questions

Hi Frank!

I've been using the heck out of my Benthic housing. I did 30+ separate deployments to 1500m+ in the Solomon Islands using a fishing reel, some similar work in Hudson Canyon in New England, and recently took some cool footage in the Red Sea of coral reefs up close and personal. It's been totally bomber and people are impressed with the images. ...... I used a weight to hover it about 1.5m above the seafloor.

I'm headed on another expedition in a few weeks to the Galapagos Islands... hoping to send my unit down on some ROV dives for Dr. Ballard (I'm his chief pilot). We'll be spending time around some of the first hydrothermal vents ever discovered. I'm interested in a housing extension for my unit, w/ a connector for auxiliary power from the ROV... I think I can get 2+ days of imagery @1fps if I use a 64GB card... power is my limitation.

.... People have been asking a lot about my unit and I've been singing your praises. I expect a lot of press from this Galapagos trip, National Geographic is joining and filming a 1hr NOVA special from it.

Thanks!

XXXXXXX

This is not a testimonial, but a series of pics we took while we were shooting a Scout with small caliber weapons.

Testimonials:

Copyright SEASWAP, Funded NOAA Bycatch Reduction Program (BREP), Project/Award number NA12NMF4720253. Pics have been altered to show better contrast.

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