[Full Picture] The Internet of Bees: Adding Sensors to Monitor Hive Health

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The Internet of Bees: Adding Sensors to Monitor Hive Health | Make:

Source: makezine.com

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Article summary:

1. The Digital Beehive uses Wi-Fi to broadcast a beehive’s weight, humidity, temperature, and battery voltage every minute to SparkFun’s data channel service called Phant.

2. A load cell is placed under the beehive to measure the weight of the hive over time.

3. The HX711 is powered from 2.7 to 5V and uses a 2 wire digital interface (Clock and Data) to get data from the scale to the internet.

Article analysis:

The article "The Internet of Bees: Adding Sensors to Monitor Hive Health" discusses a project that uses sensors and Wi-Fi to monitor the health of beehives. The project focuses on the technology and lessons learned in the field, but it acknowledges that interpretation of data should be left to research scientists. The article provides detailed steps for creating a scale that can handle the weight of a beehive and convert analog voltage readings to digital using an HX711 instrument amplifier.

One potential bias in the article is its focus on the technology rather than the impact on bees or beekeeping practices. While it mentions that employees who are beekeepers tended to the bees, there is little discussion about how this technology could improve beekeeping practices or address issues facing bee populations such as colony collapse disorder. Additionally, while the article acknowledges that calibration takes time, it does not discuss potential challenges or limitations in accurately interpreting data from these sensors.

Overall, while the article provides interesting insights into using technology to monitor beehive health, it could benefit from more discussion about potential risks and limitations as well as broader considerations for how this technology fits into larger efforts to protect bees and their habitats.

Topics for further research:

Beekeeping practices to improve bee health Colony collapse disorder and its impact on bee populations Risks and limitations of using sensors to monitor beehive health Interpretation of data from beehive sensors Impact of technology on bee habitats and ecosystems Bee conservation efforts and strategies