Revolutionary Robotic Hive Automates Honey Production

Revolutionary Robotic Hive Automates Honey Production CROPS Miscellaneous An Israeli startup called Beewise has developed BeeHome a robotic beehive that accommodates up to 1 2 million bees The product is being marketed to commercial beekeepers in the U S and Canada BeeHome has cameras inside the hive along with robotic arms sensors and other systems that allow it to execute the tasks that a beekeeper would normally do including harvesting the honey Robotic arms treat pests feed the bees prevent swarming and can be controlled remotely over the internet Pests such as varroa mites are detected by the robot Rather than using pesticides the robotic BeeHome heats frames to a point where the pests are eliminated but not the bee brood When a harmful substance is sensed inside the hive the BeeHome notifies the beekeeper by e-mail or text and then completely shuts the BeeHome’s entrances to ensure that the hives don’t get infected The BeeHome is 8 ft high and 6 1/2 ft square and weighs less than a ton without the colonies inside To optimize plant pollination a BeeHome can be moved anywhere within a field or an orchard Each BeeHome has a GPS location device so the owner always knows where the hive is An automatic alert tells the beekeeper if a BeeHome is moved without authorization Each hive has a dedicated internal feeder and is filled with nutrients by the robot on an individual colony basis Although a BeeHome is designed to operate automatically a beekeeper can still enter the BeeHome to inspect and manually manipulate individual hives BeeHomes are equipped with an automated solar-powered climate-control system that ensures bees are living in comfortable temperature and humidity conditions regardless of too-hot or too-cold exterior conditions BeeHomes detect which frames are ready to be harvested and the robot harvests them within the unit Once a container of honey reaches capacity 100 gals the BeeHome alerts the operator to empty it Beewise offers the product to farmers for a $400 monthly fee and a $2 000 delivery charge with ‘no hidden fees ’ according to the website In a recent announcement the company says it’ll soon introduce a new version of the BeeHome that’s 32 percent smaller and 20 percent lighter than the existing unit It’ll offer faster harvesting and an improved feeding and heating system Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Beewise ph 844-353-2337; www beewise ag

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