I am a huge believer of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam which is a Sanskrit phrase found in Hindu texts such as the Maha Upanishad, which means ‘the world is one family’. The phrase Vasudhaiva Kuṭumbakam (Sanskrit: वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्) consists of several words: vasudhā (transl. ‘the earth’);[3] ēva (transl. ‘is thus’);[4] and kuṭumbakam (transl. ‘family’). So, to do something for our home (world), I built this project that would help in its conservation.
It takes more than soil, water, and sunshine to make the world green. At least 30% of the world’s crops and 90% of all plants require cross-pollination to spread and thrive. Unfortunately, bee populations here and around the world are in decline.
Climate change causes some flowers to bloom earlier or later than usual, leaving bees with fewer food sources at the start of the season. Bees suffer habitat loss from development, abandoned farms, and the lack of bee-friendly flowers. Some colonies collapse due to plants and seeds treated with pesticides, or harmful parasites like mites.
The good news is there are ways gardeners can help bee populations bounce back. Planting a bee-friendly garden will not only lead to healthy and vibrant plants, it will ensure that bees continue to play their critical role in our ecosystem.
Being a Technologist, I was curious to see how I might help advance this initiative. I have always been fascinated by the secret life of bees; what is the environment like? How susceptible is the hive to external factors? Why do hives swarm?
After initial research and detailed interviews with beekeepers it was clear that little is confirmed on the impact of external factors on hive health. Beekeepers need a means of unobtrusively monitoring the hives; temperature, humidity and volatile organic compounds which affect air quality, hive stability and its orientation.
My task was clear, using a number of tiny sensors which could be fitted to the hive it would be possible to monitor and report any changes and parameters allowing a beekeeper to respond quickly if conditions threatened the hive, e.g. high winds altering the hive's orientation and affecting its stability. All the data would be collected and pushed on to a dashboard over the internet which could be viewed on a PC or a mobile phone.
The Device
Fitbit-for-Bees is a device which consists of an Internet of things gateway…
