Bee Technology 

This page documents some of the technology we are using in our project. Most of it has been introduced organically, because the project started out merely as a conservation project and the technology elements have been brought in later. 

We are using tech to monitor various aspects of our bees' lives: visual, sound, temperature and weather - by piecing together all this information and data we can learn about their behaviour from first principles. Even when you can read about how bees have been studied and see descriptions of their behaviour, there is nothing like seeing it for yourself. 

Also, you get a completely different and more-holistic view of their world than when you read about how bees can count, or how they breathe. These are all very detailed studies, which without biological lab facilities we can't come close to researching. But what we can do, is piece everything together and learn about the bees in terms of their life and life-patterns, which are utterly fascinating. 

Costs

Costs have been a key consideration in this project. It is possible (if you have the money) to go out and spend thousands of pounds on industrial and scientific technology to build into a project like this. But, can it be just as fun on a tighter budget? Yes, it can.

Re-use and recyling is core to our philosophy. So, for example, many of the cameras I have used have been sourced previously for use in my in-car video projects. Wherever possible we have re-used waste materials in the DIY elements of the projec - such as cardboard, plastic tubs and glass jars from the recycle bin. 

Total costs have been in the region of a few hundred pounds to date. It depends on your point of view as to whether this seems expensive or not - but most of these costs have been investment in items that will be re-used year after year for as long as we keep bees.

The single most expensive item has actually been the DVR (Digital Video Recorder) CCTV box that runs and records our cameras. It was £120 off eBay - and will actually serve as a home security system when not in use for this project, so will deliver value every day for many years to come.  The next most expensive item was about £20. 

DIY

System Overview

System overview of the technology in use (click for full version) 

Cameras

Video

Audio

External Integration 

Weather & Temperature

Nesting