At a glance
Our project entails the creation of a SMART Hive model based off of the Langstroth Hive design and complete with sensor… Read full summary
- Funding received
- 2020-2021
- Large
- Awarded
- $3,910
- Funding partners
-
- Services and Activities Fee (SAF)
Our project entails the creation of a SMART Hive model based off of the Langstroth Hive design and complete with sensor technologies that allow beekeepers to monitor the hive condition, detect hive stressors, and alert beekeepers to intervene before colony collapse, a deadly environmental issue that affects thousands of hives in the United States. As part of this project, we will conduct virtual and in-person workshops to teach UW students about the pollinator crisis and how to plant pollinator gardens (see our prior work with pollinator education: www.thebeeducated.org).
Our project entails the creation of a SMART Hive model based off of the Langstroth Hive design and complete with sensor technologies that allow beekeepers to monitor the hive condition, detect hive stressors, and alert beekeepers to intervene before colony collapse, a deadly environmental issue that affects thousands of hives in the United States. As part of this project, we will conduct virtual and in-person workshops to teach UW students about the pollinator crisis and how to plant pollinator gardens (see our prior work with pollinator education: www.thebeeducated.org).
Annalisa Mueller-Eberstein
Project lead
- anname37@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Student
Adithi Raghavan
Team member
- adithira@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Student
This project is led by Adithi Raghavan and Annalisa Mueller-Eberstein, freshmen at UW who have been tackling the pollinator crisis for the past 3 years. In January 2021, they joined the incubator program Dubhacks Next, part of the UW RSO Dubhacks with this project. Together, Adithi and Annalisa are part of an organization called BEEducated (www.thebeeducated.org) which Adithi founded her sophomore year of high school to raise awareness about the pollinator crisis. Adithi’s journey began in 2018 when she worked with Washington Native Plant Stewards to plant a sustainable pollinator garden at Ebright Park. Inspired to teach other students about the amazing effects of bees, Adithi then created an informative mobile application in partnership with MIT App Inventor developers. From there, both Annalisa and Adithi created a launch kit with a list of steps and resources that would help other schools plant pollinator gardens at their own schools.
Now a freshman at UW, and also a Presidential Scholar who was recognized for her work with BEEducated, Adithi is looking to pursue the research route by working with a team of UW students to mitigate the effects of a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). The proposed idea is to create a low-cost BEEducated Hive Sensor for beekeepers which will increase bee health by using Computer Vision to monitor the hive condition, detect hive stressors, and alert beekeepers to intervene before colony collapse. As part of this project, they will also be developing a low-cost SMART bee hive and distributing free pollinator garden kits to underserved communities in the greater Seattle area, especially in communities prone to food deserts, to help members of these communities better engage with beekeeping and community gardening practices. By doing so, they hope to increase access to homegrown, fresh produce that the entire community can benefit from. At the core of their initiative, they hope to empower youth to work with their communities to help bees thrive once again, for every single individual on Earth is a stakeholder in the pollinator crisis. Bees are the backbone of the agricultural system. Without bees, no one would have access to a third of the food supply. Honey, apples, peppers, almonds, and so many more products would disappear.
In fact, pollinators contribute over $24 billion to the U.S. economy by pollinating 71 of the top 100 crops. However, bees have been facing declining numbers since the mid-1900s. In fact, the leading causes of death include insecticides (especially Neonicotinoids), parasites/pathogens (incl. “Varroa Mite” and “Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus”), industrial agriculture, climate change, and human mistreatment. Combined, these factors incur a phenomenon known as “Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD),” characterized by the mass departure of worker bees from a colony. At BEEducated, we’re building a hive sensor to monitor the conditions of beekeeper’s hives, analyzing photos of bee behavior to identify possible mite infestation, abnormal behavior due to insecticides, and monitor hive temperature, humidity, and other environmental factors that are possibly influencing the bees’ health (symptoms of climate change and other weather concerns). We are in the process of building a research team and engineering team while establishing partnerships with nonprofits and beekeeping organizations who will help us gather data.
Currently, we have 13 engineers, the majority of whom are UW students, working on the research and design phase of our project. Our core team includes our founder, Adithi Raghavan, Audrey Anderson (Research Lead), Tanner Poling and Andrey Risukhin (Computer Engineering Leads), Terry Jung (Electrical Engineering Lead), Mojin Yu (UX Engineering Lead), and Annalisa Mueller-Eberstein (Project Manager). With the exception of Audrey, the team leads are all based at the University of Washington.
Our timeline is the following:
- Now - End of April (Finalize Recruitment)
- Now - End of June (Research & Design Phase)
- June - August (Build Phase/Secure Additional Investments as Necessary)
- August - January (2022) (User Testing/Refining the Product)
- January - March (2022) (Deployment)
During the Recruitment and Research and Design Phase, we will be conducting outreach efforts by presenting virtually (and eventually in-person) to students in the Seattle School District and Lake Washington School District about establishing pollinator gardens in their own backyard or community spaces. Pollinator gardens not only provide pollinators with a safe space, but also encourage pollinators to pollinate nearby flowers in gardens. In addition to these presentations, we will also coordinate efforts with these schools to distribute free pollinator garden kits to students such that they can physically engage and learn about the gardening process.
Our basic budget is below:
- $2000: Outreach and pollinator garden kit materials (incl. seeds, tools, growth medium)
- $560: Technology + Licenses (incl. Google Suite Basic Plan ($360 per month); Wix ($200 per year))
- $1000: Honorarium for research development for Audrey Anderson
- $500: User Research compensation ($25 per participant)
- $200: Microcontrollers for the electrical engineering team
- $500: Additional necessary hardware components (incl. miscellaneous items for design and build)
- $2500: Raspberry 3 Pi Computers in beehives which will use the Google Artificial Intelligence Yourself (AIY) kit. Each kit costs about $100, implicating 25 possible beehive usage
- Total: $7260
Request amount and budget
How the project will react to funding reductions
With each cut is a limitation to the scope of the project. 10% will result in a cut to the amount for research development and user compensation resulting in fewer data points which may make the final product slightly less effective or efficient for its users. It may also cut into the budget for unforeseen hardware component costs. 20% would likely result in an increase in time to develop the algorithm with a less effective GPU as well as the impacts listed above. Rather than taking 20 days to sort through the data and find a pattern that can be turned into an algorithm, it may take 250 days which is slightly longer. 50% would result in the aforementioned cuts as well as cuts to the technology and licenses portion as well as additional cuts to research and user compensation. It would also effectively eliminate the cushion for additional hardware expenses. It will likely still result in a useful product as we plan to continue this project either way, but the path will be slightly longer and more difficult.
Plans for financial longevity
A beehive itself has the most longevity and can last for up to 100 years, the microcontroller is likely the first to fail and will need to be replaced every roughly five years. To ensure it will remain in use, we will be working with the PSBA (Puget Sound Beekeepers) as well as other UW student volunteers who may be interested in learning about bees or beekeeping. Once in place, the hive should need minimal maintenance and funding. There will also be the oppurtunity to fit other beehives in the area with similar sensors and equipment.
Problem statement
Bees are a vital part of our agricultural and economic systems, as they pollinate 71 of the top 100 food crops—about 90% of the world’s nutrition. However, due to a combination of factors such as parasites/pathogens, pesticides, climate change, and human mistreatment, hives in the U.S. have faced the threat of colony collapse (“Colony Collapse Disorder” (CCD)) which is characterized by the mass departure of worker bees from a colony, effectively leaving the hive to die out. Based on recent studies, CCD affects sites with fewer than 5 hives at a rate of 14-17% in the U.S., resulting in the loss of thousands of hives and reduced crop viability/value. Moreover, since the pollination from bees enables genetic diversity and food production, it’s clear that bees remain a vital part of our ecosystem as they preserve nature’s biodiversity.
For our project, we’re building a SMART Hive complete with sensor capabilities that help beekeepers monitor the conditions of their hives, be it through analyzing photos of bee behavior to identify possible mite infestation, identifying abnormal behavior due to insecticides, or even simply monitoring the hive’s temperature. These, along with various other environmental factors that influence the bees’ health (symptoms of climate change and other weather concerns) pose serious concerns for beekeepers.
By establishing a partnership with the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association (PSBA) through David Zuckerman, we hope that the PSBA will sponsor our project at the UW Arboretum’s apiary (an apiary that PSBA maintains) since it is not in an enclosed area to access and it already has a public outreach component on beekeeping. Originally, we had hoped to install our SMART Hive at the UW Farm, however, installing a hive there is not possible due to public liability and safety concerns. Hence, we will focus on deploying our hive at the apiary in the UW Arboretum and work with David Zuckerman (Manager of Horticulture) to fulfill the necessary approval process.
Without bees it will be very difficult to maintain current food production and levels of biodiversity. Thus, the BEEducated project will mitigate the likelihood of colony collapse occurring by providing beekeepers with an affordable and efficient method to track the conditions of their hives
Measure the impacts
There are two main ways the impacts can be measured, the students involved and the condition of the bees. The measurement of student involvement is relatively simple with counting and occasional brief surveys. The condition of the bees and ease of use is something a little more difficult to measure, but the plan involves user experience surveys as well as collecting data about the conditions of the hive to extrapolate useful information concerning the bees’ numbers and health.
Education and outreach goals
Our outreach/education goals include teaching at least 100 UW students from the general student population about the importance of pollinators via virtual workshops, leading at least 2 in-person pollinator garden planting sessions at local parks with at least 20 UW students in attendance, and distributing at least 20 seed packets of a PNW pollinator-friendly seed mix to UW students who would like to start their own sustainable pollinator garden.
To advertise this event, we will coordinate with professors we have previously contacted for their support to present to their classes about the project. Moreover, we will also email other professors in the Chemistry, Psychology, and Biology departments who may have students interested in learning more about bees.
To expand our reach, we will create events for the Pollinator Garden Planting Sessions (In-Person Workshops) where we will present an informative guide on how to create a sustainable pollinator garden (BEEducated_ Launch Kit for Community.pptx). By communicating with public relations departments, we can post about our project and workshops soon after acquiring funding to promote our outreach efforts. We will also draft up a press release to facilitate the coordination process with the PR department.
Finally, to take advantage of other resources and communication channels UW students are likely to use, we will make a post on the UW Reddit as well as send in similar press release blurbs and photographs to Smirk and The Daily to both recruit volunteers and share information on the project. We will also create informational flyers (PgK Flyer_Check-In.pdf) that could potentially be distributed through the residence halls.
To measure the impact of our efforts, we intend to have all student participants fill out a survey after each virtual workshop and in-person gardening session. We will also have students who take home a set of pollinator-friendly seeds to build their own pollinator garden fill out this form that documents the progress of their garden: https://forms.gle/epys7g2gaDSpdne96.
Student involvement
We are currently wrapping up the User Research portion of our project. Our UX Team recently sent out a survey to beekeepers, receiving around 40 responses from around the world. They are now in the process of conducting interviews with these beekeepers to finalize insights for our sensor/hive model. As they complete that stage, Audrey Anderson, our principal investigator, is continuing her research into the causes for colony collapse. Her report detailing her findings will be presented by the end of June.
Our next steps are to invest more time into the build process for a device that will run a Computer Vision algorithm to monitor the hive population/condition and contain sensors that relay data about measurable factors such as humidity or temperature back to an app such that the user can interact with their SMART Hive. As part of these next steps, the SWE (Software Engineering) team will begin building the app prototype in React Native. In order for the Electrical Engineering team to begin assembling the microcontrollers and such though, we will need the grant in order to purchase the necessary hardware. Without the grant, we will be unable to engage with the build process for the sensor and hive itself.
If this project were to be fully funded though, we could continue with the build phase for the sensor device and physical hive prototype. To advise us on this process, we reached out to UW EE professor Shyam Gollakata who previously worked on innovative research pertaining to a sensor that could be placed on a bee to track it. He agreed to advise us on this project. We are also reaching out to pollinator research labs across the country to visit them (virtually) and gather their advice or insight for our hive design. Once we finish the build stage for both the sensor device and hive model, we intend to deploy the single SMART hive at the UW arboretum. Since the weather is not optimal during the summer and winter for planting, we cannot immediately plant a pollinator garden before introducing our hive model. Thus, we would return at a later date, early next year, to begin adding the flowers to the space. In the meantime, we would focus on our education and outreach efforts by hosting virtual workshops in the summer about the pollinator crisis and in-person workshops in the late summer/fall to introduce UW students to sustainable pollinator gardens.
In terms of opportunities for student involvement, although we currently have a team of 8 UW students working on various research efforts within this project, we are actively looking to recruit more volunteers. Through our incubator program Dubhacks Next, we have a hiring page in order to recruit more UW students to join the project. These positions include Recruitment Coordinator, Business Team Lead/Member, Environmental Science Researcher, and SWE Lead/Member to name a few.
Another way in which UW students can be further involved, besides our outreach efforts, is through volunteering with us to build the pollinator garden at the apiary once we reach that stage. Furthermore, once we add the bees to the hive, through a partnership with the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association, we can create a program to train UW students to become beekeepers and have them maintain the SMART hive for the foreseeable future.
To track student involvement, we will have volunteers and workshop participants fill out brief surveys to keep a record of their participation.