A Smart Sensor-Based Measurement System For Advanced Bee
A Smart Sensor-Based Measurement System For Advanced Bee
A Smart Sensor-Based Measurement System For Advanced Bee
• Weight Measurement`
• Sound Measurement
• Humidity and Temperature Measurement
• CO2 Measurement
Weight Measurement
• the time variation of beehive weight can accurately
reflect the productivity of the colony, as well as its
health and well-being conditions.
• the weight of the beehive is fully translated to the
load cell, which usually requires the use of an
interposed custom frame, designed according to the
physical dimensions of the hive
• the weight measurement of each frame is performed
by using a pair of Force Sensing Resistors (FSRs),
located at each ledge onto which the frame rests
Sound measurment
• The sound analysis of the beehives is a useful technique
applied to determine the bees’ state in a noninvasive manner
• The bees communicate each other using vibration and sound
signals generated in several ways
• The sound can be recorded by means of microphones placed
in specific position inside or outside the hives.
• As an alternative to the use of microphones, accelerometers
sensors could also be used
..cont
• it is possible to detect the presence of a queen bee in
a hive employing Radio Frequency Identification
(RFID) tags placed on the bee body . However, these
techniques are more intrusive and time consuming
• A continuous monitoring and analysis of the
beehives’ sound could be used to analyze the
presence of the queen bee easily
• Another important event that can be derived from
the sound analysis is the presence of airborne toxics
in the hive
Humidity and Temperature Measurement
• They are important parameters that can influence the bees’
health, the brood, and the productivity of the beehive
• a correct temperature inside the hive can generate a
significant decrease in the mortality rate of the colony and, at
same time, it can increase honey production by reducing the
internal consumption. In fact, it has been shown that bees
consume honey to rise the internal temperature of the hive
during the winter
• a solution for honey bee colony state identification using
temperature data and fuzzy logic was proposed. The system is
based on a fuzzy inference system that starting from the
temperature data defines three possible states for the hive
health status, i.e., normal, death, and extreme.
CO2 Measurement
• it is linked to the bees’ metabolism, as a change in the
respiratory emission of CO2 is associated to metabolic
heating of a bee in its normal activity
• when the carbon dioxide within the hive reaches much
higher levels than the normal atmospheric ones, honey
bees start using fanning and gas exchange events to expel
the CO2-rich air, and to keep the CO2 at an acceptable
level
• This means that this parameter is also related to the
internal humidity and temperature and the quantity of
sound generated by the bees,
Hardware and Software Implementation
• A multipara-metric acquisition platform has been developed
in order to acquire weight measurements, the sound
generated by the honey bees, the temperature, the humidity,
and also the amount of CO2 generated within each hive.
Weight Measurement Sub-System