The Czech SME active in software and app development, cloud solutions and ICT integration has developed a monitoring system based on predicting bee conditions through acoustic monitoring of bees. The development of the system was initiated by the sole owner of the SME who has many years of experience in beekeeping.
Efficient beekeeping requires monitoring the state of the bee colonies throughout the year and having control over the bee colonies at all times. Current systems based on monitoring the weight of the hive are able to identify changes in the hive, but not the reasons behind them. This system makes it possible to monitor and precisely determine the main problems bee colonies are experiencing using the sounds that are characteristic for individual states. Early prediction provides beekeepers with time and opportunity to respond immediately. Using wireless communications technology, current bee colony conditions can be monitored from a PC, tablet or a smart phone. The software is currently available in Czech, English and German versions.
The main components of the acoustic bee colony monitoring system are:
- A probe with a microphone and temperature sensor located in each hive; It is energy independent, equipped with a solar panel and antenna for wireless transmission of measured values to the centre;
- A centre, with a memory for storing data received from the probes and a GSM module for sending batches of data to the company´s internet server;
- An internet server, with sufficient capacity to store data sent to the centres from individual bee colonies and to run the software of the needed application;
- A software application analysing data and determining the condition of the bee colonies, and a mobile app for graphically presenting the evaluated results; in the event of abnormal findings, the system automatically generates a warning email or text message.
Commercial agency agreement with organizations or entities closely cooperating and communicating with bee keepers and their associations is perceived by the SME as the best way of delivering the system to commercial and smaller bee keepers.
