Author Topic: Smart Hive for Beekeepers _ General Questions  (Read 1731 times)

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Offline Ryan_Research

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Smart Hive for Beekeepers _ General Questions
« on: November 01, 2020, 11:21:45 pm »
Hi,

I am a graduate student at Purdue University. I am interested in working with beekeepers, especially hobbyists and part-time beekeepers, to develop a smart, multisensory beehive that uses various types of data (e.g., video, audio, temperature, weight, and so on) to estimate the state of a bee colony and help them monitor their hives continuously. It would be very helpful if you can share your experience by answering the following questions:

1- How would you describe your experience with the beehive you are currently using?

a. Likes: What are some of the things, if any, you LIKE about your beehive?
b. Dislikes: What are some of the things, if any, you DISLIKE about the beehive?
c. Improvements: Anything you think should be improved?

2- Imagine if you were the designer of this intelligent beehive:

a. What will you include in it to better assist you with the beekeeping practice?
b. What do you want to monitor, and what data is helpful?

Thank You in Advance!

Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Smart Hive for Beekeepers _ General Questions
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2020, 03:01:00 pm »
I'll start a discussion.  1. Weighing a colony can tell you so much in regards to winter preparedness, nectar flow and how strong the flow is, dearths, and colony build up.  An affordable and easy to use scale would be beneficial.  It would be nice to have multiple scales, especially if there were several apiaries involved.  I encourage new beekeepers to start doing the heft test from the very beginning.  The heft test is where you give a little lift at the bottom of the hive, from the back.  As the colony builds up the beekeeper can tell the difference in weight.
2. I don't know about a smart hive, but it would be very beneficial to have a device that would help lift heavy equipment.  As the average age of beekeepers is over 55 (correct me if I am wrong) and many beekeepers are women, something to help with lifting would be great.
3.  The source of pollen would be beneficial to many beekeepers.  They could label their honey according to the floral sources.  Most of the time we have to send samples off to be tested if we want to know for sure. 
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Offline neillsayers

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Re: Smart Hive for Beekeepers _ General Questions
« Reply #2 on: November 02, 2020, 11:16:07 pm »
Temperature sensors in each box can tell a keeper quite a bit about the hive health and population. Also there has been some research into identifying the sounds the colony makes and diagnosing potenrial problems from those sounds,i.e. diseases, malnutrition, temperature stress etc....
Neill Sayers
Herbhome Bees
USDA Zone 7a
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Offline Mcedwar

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Re: Smart Hive for Beekeepers _ General Questions
« Reply #3 on: December 05, 2020, 01:55:58 pm »
Have you looked at the products that are already available?

Have you done any market research to see if anyone is willing to spend money for sensors?