Three of our interns have made an automated bee monitor for their minor project (Industrial Automation and Robotics). The intention of the bee monitor is that the bees can be monitored without always having to go up on the roof and to check them manually. To be able to monitor the bees, different sensors were needed:
- The temperature inside and outside the beehive;
- The humidity inside and outside the beehive;
- The measurement of the flight activity of the bees;
- The weight of the crib;
- The light intensity from outside the beehive;
- The wind speed from outside the beehive.
To realize this, they first investigated the bee behavior and what effect the different sensors can have on them. This is also why they opted for red lasers to measure flight activity; bees cannot see red light. With the red lasers and the sensors they were able to see when a laser beam was interrupted and thus conclude that a bee had flown by.
After programming and testing everything, they mounted the various components on the hive and some right next to the hive. They used Ethernet cables to connect the sensors. Using Ethernet cables makes it easy to disconnect, move or replace the sensors.
The students joined a competition at their college and finished second with their beehive-project! Three other Tembo interns won the first prize with their project. The first prize is to visit the Shell Eco Marathon in London in July! They made a trainings platform for TDC’s Genesis. The jury, consisting of teachers of IT, Mechanical Engineering and Elektro + sponsor MA-IT, praised the way in which the assignment was carried out.