{"id":30832,"date":"2019-10-31T21:37:41","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T18:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prohoster.info\/blog\/pchelovody-protiv-mikrokontrollerov-ili-o-polze-oshibok\/"},"modified":"2019-10-31T21:37:41","modified_gmt":"2019-10-31T18:37:41","slug":"pchelovody-protiv-mikrokontrollerov-ili-o-polze-oshibok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prohoster.info\/en\/blog\/administrirovanie\/pchelovody-protiv-mikrokontrollerov-ili-o-polze-oshibok","title":{"rendered":"Beekeepers vs. Microcontrollers or the Benefits of Mistakes","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Beekeepers<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

One of the most conservative human activities is beekeeping!
\nSince the invention of the frame hive and honey extractor about 200 years ago, progress in this field has been minimal.<\/p>\n

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This has manifested in the electrification of some honey extraction processes and the use of winter heating for hives.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, the global bee population is declining significantly due to climate change, widespread chemical use in agriculture, and our ongoing ignorance about what bees actually want.<\/p>\n

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My hives were lost for the first reason, which significantly changed the initial concept of the 'smart hive'.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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In fact, the problem with existing projects in this area is that the people creating them are not beekeepers, and the beekeepers themselves are far removed from engineering sciences.<\/p>\n

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And of course, there\u2019s the question of price\u2014the cost of a bee colony is roughly equivalent to the cost of a simple hive and the value of the honey they produce in a season (year).<\/p>\n

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Now take the price of one of the emerging projects and multiply it by the number of hives in a commercial apiary (from 100 and up).<\/p>\n

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In general, if anyone is interested in the Friday musings of a geek-beekeeper, please read on!<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/noindex><\/p>\n

My grandfather was an amateur beekeeper\u2014with a couple of dozen hives\u2014so I grew up near an apiary, although I was panic-stricken by bees.<\/p>\n

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But after decades, I eventually decided to have my own\u2014the stings no longer frightened me, and the desire to have my own hive filled with honeybees fueled my determination.<\/p>\n

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So, below is the design of the most common hive of the Dadant system.<\/p>\n

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In brief, the main body constantly houses the bees and they winter there, while the 'super' is added during the honey gathering season, and the upper cover serves to insulate and reduce condensation.<\/p>\n

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\"Beekeepers<\/p>\n

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And you know, I wouldn't be myself if I didn't try to invent my own bicycle and install an Arduino on it \ud83d\ude09.<\/p>\n

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As a result, I assembled the hive bodies of the Warr\u00e9 system (multi-body, frameless - 'frame' 300\u00d7200).<\/p>\n

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I got bees in the middle of summer; I didn't want to forcibly relocate them to a new home, and despite my efforts, they refused to acclimate to the new box.<\/p>\n

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As a result, in September, I gave up on these attempts, provided the necessary feeding, insulated the 12-frame Dadant (walls\u2014single-layer pine 40mm\u2014used hive), and left them for wintering.<\/p>\n

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Unfortunately, the alternation of numerous thaws with freezes has given the bees no chance \u2014 even experienced colleagues lost about 2\/3 of their bee colonies.<\/p>\n

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As you might have guessed, I didn't have time to install the sensors, but I drew the appropriate conclusions.<\/p>\n

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This was just a prelude, so what's the deal with the smart hive?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Let's consider an existing foreign project. Internet for bees.<\/a><\/noindex> \u2014 what's good and what's not:<\/p>\n

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\"Beekeepers<\/p>\n

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The main parameters for monitoring here are temperature, humidity, and the weight of the hive.<\/p>\n

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The last one is only relevant during the honey collection period, and humidity is also important only during the active period.<\/p>\n

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In my opinion, a noise sensor is missing \u2014 its intensity, along with temperature and humidity, can indicate the onset of swarming.<\/p>\n

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Let's delve further into temperature:<\/p>\n

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One sensor is only relatively informative during the summer, when the bees are actively moving air in the hive space - preventing it from overheating and 'evaporating' water from the honey.<\/p>\n

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In winter, they cluster into a 'ball' with a 'diameter' of about 15 cm, fall into a light slumber, and migrate across the combs, consuming the stored honey.<\/p>\n

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The movement area in a 12-frame 'Dadant' is 40x40x30 cm (L-W-H), measuring the 'average hospital temperature' under the ceiling is useless.<\/p>\n

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The absolute minimum, in my opinion, is 4 sensors placed 10 cm from the top of the frames \u2014 in a 20x20 cm square.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Humidity \u2014 yes, in the super, an electret microphone \u2014 placed where the bees won't seal it with propolis.<\/p>\n

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Now about humidity.<\/p>\n

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\"Beekeepers<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

During winter, bees consume honey and release more than 10 liters of moisture!<\/p>\n

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Do you think living in a polystyrene hive contributes to health?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Would you want to live in a house made of such material?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What about honey with toxins? <\/p>\n

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Polystyrene releases quite a lot at around 40 degrees Celsius \u2014 that\u2019s how warm the hive gets inside during summer.<\/p>\n

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The walls of the hive should 'breathe' like thermal underwear - ideally, wood - planed on the outside, left rough on the inside - and never painted!<\/p>\n

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And finally, how I think this can be done:<\/p>\n

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Remember, at the beginning I mentioned the cost of the issue? <\/p>\n

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I put this at the forefront, and therefore for now, the weight sensor is out of the picture.<\/p>\n

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Basic kit:<\/p>\n

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Microcontroller \u2014 Atmega328P, in sleep mode, powered for example \u2014 from a 9-volt battery through DC-DC (no solar panels!).<\/p>\n

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'Frame' with the device - MCU, power supply, 4 temperature sensors, humidity sensor, microphone, external connector for module connection.<\/p>\n

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Extensions:<\/p>\n

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LCD1602-based indicator (can be one for the entire apiary)<\/p>\n

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Wi-Fi\/Bluetooth \u2014 general wireless modules for smartphone control.<\/p>\n

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So, gentlemen, I am interested in your opinion \u2014 <\/p>\n

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    \n
  1. How interesting will the development of this topic be for the Habr community?<\/li>\n
  2. Is it a viable idea for a startup?<\/li>\n
  3. Any constructive criticism is welcome!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/p>\n

    You were accompanied by IT beekeeper Andrey.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \"Beekeepers<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    See you again on Habr!<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    UPD In disputes, truth is born; in discussions on Habr, it is refined!<\/strong><\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    I have decided on the hardware and methods \u2014 a minimal kit for one hive (3 parameters \u2014 temperature, humidity, noise level) + battery monitoring<\/strong><\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    the battery capacity should last during the active season \u2014 for a month, during wintering \u2014 for 5<\/strong><\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    P.S. And yes, the information will be transmitted via WiFi<\/strong>
    \nP.P.S. The prototype just needs to be made <\/strong><\/p>\n

    Only registered users can participate in the survey. Please log in<\/a><\/noindex>, please.<\/p>\n

    Implementation of the \"smart hive\". Would you be interested in reading articles about the development of this topic?<\/h2>\n