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Solar-powered robotic beekeeping

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Re: Solar-powered robotic beekeeping

#41

Post by clutchdude »

Beekeeper here -

Video didn't show many of the aspects a beekeeper has to deal with.

"Beehomes use A.I. to identify when a colony could be preparing to swarm, and automatically prevents this event by adjusting conditions. Beekeepers can rest assured that the Beehome has their colonies stay put while they focus on other responsibilities."

doesn't sell it.

Bees are livestock, not programs. They sometimes decide that it's time to move on no matter what you do.

It doesn't show how inspections are done nor how many frames or frametypes are used. It doesn't show how frame rotation is done(necessary every few years) or what happens when you have a dead out.

How would you introduce a new queen or perform splits?

I'm also not sold on their "prevention"

> How does Beehome deal with pests? > > The ones that are visible with the naked eye, like Varroa, are detected by the robot in real-time, and treatment is applied accordingly. Others are identified by the damage they leave, and then treatment is applied accordingly. > Does Beehome use/apply pesticides?

> No; the robot treats for pests using a heating mechanism. The robot heats frames to a point where it harms the pests (Varroa) but does not harm the bees’ brood.

I glanced over a paper on hyperthermic and I'd have concerns regarding nurse bee viability after being subjected to that temps, even if brood are not seeing mortality.

Meanwhile, we have extremely effective treatments for varroa that show little impact on brood/bees - See Randy Oliver.

I could go on and on but

tldr; This product handwaves away almost all of the work a beekeeper does without actually showing how it performs those tasks. I'd have extremely low confidence in it until a production length video of each aspect of a beekeepers job is produced and walked through with the Beewise.

Re: Solar-powered robotic beekeeping

#42

Post by simonebrunozzi »

clutchdude wrote: post #41

Beekeeper here - Video didn't show many of the aspects a beekeeper has to deal with. "Beehomes use A.I. to identify when a colony could be preparing to swarm, and automatically prevents this event by adjusting conditions. Beekeepers can rest assured that the Beehome has their colonies stay put while they focus on other responsibilities." doesn't sell it. Bees are livestock, not programs. They sometimes decide that it…

> I'd have extremely low confidence in it until a production length video of each aspect of a beekeepers job is produced and walked through with the Beewise.

I know a bit about bee-keeping (did it with my father for ~15 years). I'd agree with you, but perhaps they don't feel ready to openly share too much, for fear of competition. Not a great idea, but this might be the reason why you don't see much in their material.

Re: Solar-powered robotic beekeeping

#43

Post by simonebrunozzi »

WaitWaitWha wrote: post #39
Gasp0de wrote: post #14

So according to Google one Beehive can produce 20-30kg of honey per year. For the 24 beehives in this machine that would be 720kg of honey max, selling for around 10€ per kg in Germany. That would make a maximum of 7200€ in one year, while the machine costs 4800$/year plus 2000 for delivery in the first year. Additionally, the Beekeeper has to retrieve, package and sell the honey. I don't see this machine reaching pr…

Depending where I put my hives, I can make 30 to 60lbs of honey with my "100 year old wooden box" technology. My ladies do not like "unnatural" (i.e. mostly plastic, metal) things. They will cover it with propolis quickly. They also do not seem to like electricity or odd magnetic fields, and things that constantly hum, like transformers. The listed things that the robot supposedly is doing (feeding, watering, treat i…

Nice comments, but you're way off on the annual cost. It should be $400 x Beehome (24 beehives) x month, or $4,800 per year for 24 beehives. That's ~$200 per beehive per year.

Re: Solar-powered robotic beekeeping

#44

Post by znpy »

femto wrote: post #19
Gasp0de wrote: post #14

So according to Google one Beehive can produce 20-30kg of honey per year. For the 24 beehives in this machine that would be 720kg of honey max, selling for around 10€ per kg in Germany. That would make a maximum of 7200€ in one year, while the machine costs 4800$/year plus 2000 for delivery in the first year. Additionally, the Beekeeper has to retrieve, package and sell the honey. I don't see this machine reaching pr…

Beekeepers also make money by renting out hives for pollination? Edit: Found an interesting article: https://theconversation.com/the-farmer-wants-a-hive-inside-t... To quote: "Alternatively, crop growers can buy their own hives and set them up permanently, eliminating the cost of rental and reducing the pressure on honeybees used for pollination services. However, this comes at its own cost. Growers need to maintain…

> Beekeepers also make money by renting out hives for pollination?

The sad things of those practices is that the hive is stressed by being moved around a lot, and that hives are often used to impollinate but after pesticides have been used thius killing the hive.

It happens very often, sadly.

Re: Solar-powered robotic beekeeping

#45

Post by simonebrunozzi »

unfocussed_mike wrote: post #11
jsiepkes wrote: post #2

Looks super interesting. I would love to see some reallife feedback. Such are the moving parts prone to jams and stuff like that.

> Such are the moving parts prone to jams and stuff like that. They are probably prone to honey rather than jams. /jk Actually the question I most want answered is about materials and environments -- I know hives can start in all sorts of things, but I am wondering about bee health (physical/social) in the context of metal and plastic. Also their material preferences; do bees still need to be persuaded/cajoled to set…

> They are probably prone to honey rather than jams. /jk

Ah, this one was really juicy!

Re: Solar-powered robotic beekeeping

#46

Post by WaitWaitWha »

simonebrunozzi wrote: post #43
WaitWaitWha wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depending where I put my hives, I can make 30 to 60lbs of honey with my "100 year old wooden box" technology. My ladies do not like "unnatural" (i.e. mostly plastic, metal) things. They will cover it with propolis quickly. They also do not seem to like electricity or odd magnetic fields, and things that constantly hum, like transformers. The listed things that the robot supposedly is doing (feeding, watering, treat i…

Nice comments, but you're way off on the annual cost. It should be $400 x Beehome (24 beehives) x month, or $4,800 per year for 24 beehives. That's ~$200 per beehive per year.

Thanks for the correction. I miss-read it as monthly cost.

Re: Solar-powered robotic beekeeping

#47

Post by arijun »

Gys wrote: post #3

A bit more small scale: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hiive/hiive-better-for-...

This doesn't look like it does anything robotically, but is rather is supposed to be a "better manmade hive" (e.g. with insulation and a semi-permeable membrane). I am not equipped to evaluate that claim, or if their manufacture/delivery goals are possible, so I would probably wait until someone else weighed in.

Re: Solar-powered robotic beekeeping

#48

Post by jsiepkes »

Gasp0de wrote: post #31
jsiepkes wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Genuine question: are you within their target market? I guess only a commercial honey maker would be? No just interested in the technical side of the product. Though I would love to buy one with some friends and run it if they would ever start selling to consumers.

Would you be willing to put out 40$/mo with your 10 friends though? The product seems super expensive in my (totally unprofessional) opinion.

I would definitly be willing to invest in it. The idea would be to make it (atleast) a break-even operation eventually.

Re: Solar-powered robotic beekeeping

#49

Post by WaitWaitWha »

i_cannot_hack wrote: post #23
onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bees only life 2-4x longer than fruit flies, and fruit flies "evolve" resistance to stressors in 8-9 generations (a month). So I'm not sure why bees couldn't have some minor changes within a year. But I'm also skeptical that's inherently a bad thing.

A generation of bees is defined by the procreation of colonies / queens, not the life of individual worker bees, since they are eusocial. The queen bee lives for 3-4 years, and establishment of new colonies (swarming) can happen around once a year. I would guess 9 generations of bees would probably be 9 years at a minimum.

You are absolutely correct, unless the queen is actively managed by the beekeeper. Commercial beekeepers will have a queen for half that time, and then replace her.

Re: Solar-powered robotic beekeeping

#50

Post by clutchdude »

simonebrunozzi wrote: post #42
clutchdude wrote: post #41

Beekeeper here - Video didn't show many of the aspects a beekeeper has to deal with. "Beehomes use A.I. to identify when a colony could be preparing to swarm, and automatically prevents this event by adjusting conditions. Beekeepers can rest assured that the Beehome has their colonies stay put while they focus on other responsibilities." doesn't sell it. Bees are livestock, not programs. They sometimes decide that it…

> I'd have extremely low confidence in it until a production length video of each aspect of a beekeepers job is produced and walked through with the Beewise. I know a bit about bee-keeping (did it with my father for ~15 years). I'd agree with you, but perhaps they don't feel ready to openly share too much, for fear of competition. Not a great idea, but this might be the reason why you don't see much in their material…

From what I'm reading, most of their IP is in the tech side. AI and other stuff.

Showing me how to clean, manage and use their product shouldn't be the secret sauce because they're otherwise relying on a quick market saturation before someone catches up.

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