Spring is the “starting point” and the start of the beekeeping season.
What the Apipulse System of Integrated Monitoring of the Condition of Bee Colonies has come to at the beginning of the season:
We built the hardware of the Apipulse System, developed the server part and the Apipulse Application, and debugged their joint work.
With the help of our respected testers, we identified some vulnerabilities and fixed them.
We attended seasonal events of beekeepers in different regions of Russia, where we received valuable feedback.
Participated in scientific and practical conferences of the beekeeping industry as participants and speakers.
We met with authoritative experts in the beekeeping industry, demonstrated to them the work of the Apipulse System, received their competent opinion on the benefits of our development, and outlined joint research work.
Based on the results of this preparatory period, we evaluate our System as fully corresponding to the term “Smart Hive”, we plan further work and interactions to build a digital platform based on the Apipulse Smart Hive, which includes the possibility of automatic marking of the apiary and bee families, automatic mutual notifications between beekeepers and farmers, the opportunity to trace the origin of the harvest of honey and bee products.
We would like to once again tell you in more detail about what our Smart Hive consists of.
The main and mandatory component in an apiary, around which the entire System in an apiary is built, is the Control Unit (or Hub). The hub is installed somewhere in the center of the territory, in the amount of one piece.
Apipulse bee scales are installed under the hives. The scales were designed at the request of industrial beekeepers and their design allows one person to quickly install them under a hive or pull them out and move them under another.
Sensors are placed inside the hives. This could be our basic sensor that collects data on temperature and humidity inside the hive, or a sensor that collects data on temperature, humidity and the sound frequency level inside the hive - this is a very important parameter for assessing the condition of the bee colony.
The number of scales and type of sensors is determined by the beekeeper himself, depending on his needs.
The sensors are automatically connected to the Control Unit and are immediately visible in the Apipulse application. That's it, the system has turned your apiary into a smart apiary and is ready to work.
The control unit polls all connected devices in the apiary every hour and transmits the data to our server. All data on the microclimate inside the hive, indicators of the sound frequency at which the bees sound, weight gain and plumb lines are available to the beekeeper immediately. The information is presented in the form of convenient and informative graphics. This information about the development and life of a bee colony is stored and available to the beekeeper from the moment he begins using the Apipulse System and makes it possible to analyze the influence of various external circumstances on the bee family and understand what processes, when and how lead to certain results.
Having installed the Apipulse System (control unit, sensors in the hives, scales) in the apiary, you can later purchase the necessary sensors or scales in any quantity, connect them to an already installed hub, thus obtaining Smart hives in the quantity required by the beekeeper.
Why does a beekeeper need a Smart Hive and the data it provides:
- this is remote monitoring of the condition of bee colonies: if the beekeeper does not live near the apiary, if he went on vacation, if there are several remote points and they need to be monitored simultaneously.
- the temperature and humidity inside the hive gives an idea of the strength of the bee colony and how it develops.
- in winter, it shows how strong the family is to maintain a stable temperature and humidity inside the hive, regardless of these parameters outside.
- the level of 12 sound frequencies gives an idea of the various states of the bee colony - underfeeding, mites, loss of the queen, admission of the queen, is the family ready for swarming - if the sound frequencies change, you need to pay attention to this. this gives the beekeeper time to correct the problem before the colony weakens or is lost.
- apiary scales - in the summer they will determine the weight gain and its dynamics, the prospects of the location for honey collection. In winter, data from the scales can indicate the dynamics of feed consumption, which makes it possible to control its supply, as well as “catch” the onset of early brood.
In addition to all of the above, the “Smart Hive” gives the beekeeper the opportunity not to disturb the bee colony once again, but to understand and control its condition, which is very valuable and has a positive effect on everything.