Integrated video-based bee counting and multi-sensors platform for remote bee yard monitoring

Abstract

Beehive monitoring systems are very important for understanding behavior of bees and to have a better overview of environmental parameters impact on their activities. Such information is very useful for agriculture, but in saving bees as well. Although there are various systems for monitoring beehives, there is still a growing need for low-cost monitoring solutions. In this paper we proposed an integrated system for video-based honey bee counting and a multi-sensors platform for environmental parameters monitoring. The honey bees counting system aims to evaluate foraging activity of bees through the number of honey bees exiting and entering the beehive, while the multi-sensors platform is used for remote monitoring of environmental parameters near the beehive. The proposed electronic system for remote monitoring of environmental parameters in a bee yard has specific features such as battery-power supply, portability, and a unit for transmitting data to the remote server. On a relatively small data set, that includes measured and acquisitioned environmental parameters as well as counted honey bees, we have shown how effort of honey bees is coupled to the coincident environmental parameters near the hive.