/bee-have

A particle adaptation of an Arduino library to interface the Avia Semiconductor HX711 24-Bit Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) for Weight Scales.

Primary LanguageArduinoMIT LicenseMIT

bee-have

Open-source monitoring system for bee hives.

Existing simililar projects

What we are trying to monitor/control

  • Exit/entrance rates
  • Hive weight:
    • Weight over time
    • Weight of bottom hive compared to above supers
    • Weight that is bee, weight that is non-bee
  • Needs to support hive health in extremely cold climates.
  • Number of bees in hive
  • Temperature in different areas of the hive
  • Being able to adjust/control heat
  • Overall: Hive health!!
  • Noticing regional trends in hive health based on surrounding land

Equipment needed

  • Scale. HoneyBeeNet recommends scales that are accurate to 0.25 or ~1134 bees
  • SparkFun Load Sensor Combinator. Attaches to load sensors and interprets resistence in a manner that can be read by Arduinos or Particles. This can be attached to a hijacked scale.
  • Alternatively, you can use a SparkFun Open Scale that combines 4 load sensors with the combinator.
  • Arduino/Particle
  • Analytics platform

Problems

  • Bees weigh ~ about 0.1 gram and hives weight many pounds. Most scales that exist aren't good at measuring both of these things
  • Scales drift over time
  • We would be measuring on uneven surfaces

In motion