The technology, dubbed Electronic Bee-Veterinarian (EBV), could also lower labour costs.
EBV uses low-cost heat sensors and forecasting models to predict when hive temperatures may reach dangerous levels.
It provides remote beekeepers with early warnings in real-time, allowing for quick preventive action. It can also predict conditions days in advance.
How EBV Predicts Dangerous Hive Temperatures
“We convert the temperature to a factor that we are calling the health factor, which gives an estimate of how strong the bees are on a scale from zero to one,” said Shamima Hossain, a Ph.D. student in computer science at UCR and lead author of a paper explaining the technology.
The technology uses a simplified metric – with a score of ‘one’ meaning the bees are at full strength.
Bee Colony Losses and the Impact on Agriculture
“Over the last year, the U.S. lost over 55% of its honeybee colonies,” Boris Baer, a UCR professor of entomology, said, citing data from Project Apis m., which monitors beehive losses throughout the U.S. “We are experiencing a major collapse of bee populations, and that is extremely worrying because about one-third of what we eat depends on bees.”
The Working Mechanism of Electronic Bee-Veterinarian Technology
The EBV method is based on thermal diffusion equations and control theory, making its predictions interpretable to both scientists and beekeepers. The model uses temperature data collected from low-cost sensors installed inside the hive, feeding that information into an algorithm that predicts hive conditions several days in advance.
EBV Testing and Early Detection of Hive Conditions
In tests conducted at UCR’s apiary, the EBV method analysed data from 10 hives during initial development and later expanded to 25 hives. The technology has already proven its effectiveness, detecting conditions that required beekeeper intervention.
Real-Life Application of EBV Technology
“When I looked at the dashboard and saw the health factor dropped below an empirical threshold, I contacted our apiary manager,” Hossain recalled. “When we went to check the hive, we found that there was actually something wrong, and they were able to take action to manage the situation.”
