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๐Ÿงฟ Robotic Beehive

status: proof-of-concept, 5% complete

Bill of Materials (robot)

Whyโ€‹

To solve Observability of bee colony, Physical labor, Challenging to become a new beekeeper, Ugly beehives problems, weโ€™re building a single-colony robotic beehive, capable of automating inspections.

Vision and Positioningโ€‹

Single-colony robot costs too much (>2000 EUR) to be cost-efficient in large scales. Because of this, it is unlikely that Industrial beekeepers or Farmers (that have >20 beehives) will buy it. Instead, we are targeting people that value exterior Design to compliment their brand.

https://www.honeyflow.com/ as example of tehnological beehive, selling for 700 EUR

President Alar Karis harvesting honey from the Kadriorg Palace beehives. (Photo: Office of the President) An example of complimentary brand

Clients / Target audienceโ€‹

Howโ€‹

Main flow is to:

  • extract hive frame using Robotics
  • take photos from both sides
  • upload to the Web-app where it will be processed for health status

Functional requirements / featuresโ€‹

title
๐Ÿญ Automatic sugar syrup feeder
๐ŸŽ™๏ธ 6-channel audio monitoring
๐ŸŽฎ Connecting robot to web-app UX
๐ŸŽฎ Client-side app with UI in manual override mode
๐Ÿ“ธ Full hive inspection
๐Ÿ Bee specialization classification
๐Ÿ”Š Audio-interface to talk to bees
๐Ÿ Bee nursing video analysis
๐Ÿ“ธ Real-time frame scanning
๐Ÿ”ฅ Hive heating
๐Ÿš Ventilation control
๐Ÿ›‘ Close mechanised hive entrance in case of robbing behaviour
๐Ÿ”Œ Energy autonomy
๐Ÿ›‘ Mechanically reduce hive entrance in case of high wind
๐Ÿฆพ Robotic frame reordering
๐Ÿฆพ Robotic insertion of new frames
๐Ÿ›‘ Close mechanized hive entrance in case of hornet attack
๐Ÿฆพ Moveable hive bottom with varroa counting
๐ŸฆพRobotic frame isolation & extraction
๐Ÿงช Automatic acid treatment against varroa

Non-functional requirementsโ€‹

Extraction should happen without disturbing the bees, exposing them to elements or risking people around.

  • able to adjust to frame size and hive section size of customerโ€™s choice (Langstroth, Farrar, National etc)
  • should not harm human operator - @Regulations and Compliance (ex. breaking hands)
  • not kill ๐Ÿ bees [squashing with moving mechanisms, cause hypothermia, open to stealing or attacks via cracks]
  • be able to extract frame if bees glued it with wax
  • not ๐Ÿ”ฅย ignite from overheating, sun, electrical wiring etc. Beewax is highly flammable
  • move frame that is full of honey (4kg)
  • be repairable (modular, hot-swappable)
  • be offline-first. Provide data to beekeeper without internet or cloud account
  • provide manual on-site control over frame movement
  • fallback to safe mode on power loss

Prototypeโ€‹

Consists of actuators that can move the frame in/out, GPU, cameras. Very early stage as weโ€™re focusing on Web-app and Entrance Observer first.