The new smart Hive-Tech to improve bee health
The United Nations organization has decided to establish the World Bee Day which is celebrated every year on May 20 to remember the importance of these small insects that are in danger now more than ever.
Bees are pollinating insects and therefore, thanks to pollination, they are able to guarantee the birth of new fruits and, consequently, ensure the existence of different plant species. They are essential for the production of honey, but above all for the life of our planet, for the entire food chain and for the maintenance of biodiversity, their absence would determine the disappearance of many types of plants, flowers and even agricultural products. Thanks to them, today, there are 106 types of fruit and vegetables available.
Unfortunately, these small insects have been in danger for years now. Pollution, climate change, diseases, the strong human impact on the environment together with the continuous use of pesticides are drastically reducing their number.
The Italian start-up 3Bee, thanks to technological innovation, has created Hive-Tech, the digital hive 3.0 able to decrease human activity and control the bees’ good health. It is a network of sensors placed inside and below the hive which, connected to a mobile device (such as smartphone, PC and tablet) can help to detect the vital parameters of insects, saving them from environmental dangers and can monitor what happens inside the hives; beekeepers are thus able to know the temperature, the humidity levels, the sounds, the bees’ weight, they can also check the nectar condition and the winter stocks. Smart IoT sensors allow you to reduce treatments and visits to apiaries and also reduce CO2 emissions. Niccolò Calandri, CEO of 3Bee and Riccardo Balzaretti, biologist and co-founder of 3Bee, have “revolutionized the ancient and precious art of beekeeping by supporting its growth and rediscovery thanks to the application of innovative technologies such as IoT sensors, artificial intelligence and machine learning”. They also provided beekeepers “a new way to work and, thanks to the interactive platform”, both individuals and companies can start green projects.
3Bee has created an organization that unites about 10 thousand beekeepers throughout Italy where there are more than 56 thousand owners of hives and almost 2 million colonies that host 80 billion worker bees and 2 million queen bees. In 2008, the Italian company promoted the “adopt a hive” platform, a research and development initiative that has already allowed the adoption of over 500 hives. The user interested in the project has the possibility to choose the beekeeper, the hive and the preferred honey and in addition to the amount of honey he will receive, he can monitor and follow the hive’s growth remotely.
The Italian agri-tech company, thanks to its new intelligent diagnostic and monitoring systems, can change the world of beekeeping by improving the living and health conditions of bees, which will thus be able to continue to be the engine of biodiversity.
