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bee_laboratory_talk [2014/05/11 18:54] – [1. observation set ups] amibee_laboratory_talk [2016/01/13 17:48] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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 For many years now, I have been creating experimental set-ups using sustainable beehives that have been augmented with sensors and sensory processing algorithms to analyse the state of the colony, the quality of pollen and propolis and the behavior of the bees. These beehives are progressively linked in a European-wide network and the data is being made available online.  For many years now, I have been creating experimental set-ups using sustainable beehives that have been augmented with sensors and sensory processing algorithms to analyse the state of the colony, the quality of pollen and propolis and the behavior of the bees. These beehives are progressively linked in a European-wide network and the data is being made available online. 
 Together with a group of engineers, computer scientists, artists and beekeepers I created in 2011 the Green Beehive at Okno. This was a Dadant Blatt beehive that we enhanced with sensors and camera facilities. Together with a group of engineers, computer scientists, artists and beekeepers I created in 2011 the Green Beehive at Okno. This was a Dadant Blatt beehive that we enhanced with sensors and camera facilities.
-In 2013 I initiated the OpenSourceBeehives project in Barcelona. Together with the Fab Lab from the IAAC architecture institute, we set up a test station on the premises of Valldaura Self Sufficient Labs. We installed several Warré beehives+In 2013 I initiated the OpenSourceBeehives project in Barcelona. Together with the Fab Lab from the IAAC architecture institute, we set up a test station on the premises of Valldaura Self Sufficient Labs. We installed also several Warré beehives at our headquarters in Brussels.
  
  
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- +=====2. monitoring: sensors, data transmission and visualisation=====
-=====2. the Transparent Beehive===== +
-But the real focus of the Transparent Beehive was to study the behaviour of the bees and to link the development of the colony to the sound it produces. Therefore I installed 8 contact microphones in the frames of the beehive.  +
-When I populated the Transparent Beehive with a swarm, the bees started to fill the frames with comb and slowly they covered the empty hive with tens of thousands of wax cells to store the nectar and the pollen they brought back from their foraging flights. The center frames were reserved for the queen to lay eggs and for the young bees to raise the brood.  +
- +
-{{:soundbeehive:blackboard.jpg?350x233|}} {{:soundbeehive:bees-sensors.jpg?350x233|}} +
-Social insects are a crucial element in our ecosystem. The study and monitoring of the honeybees allows for experimentation with couplings between nature and technology. I like the metaphor of 'reading the development of a colony by browsing through a book'. I  want to set up a real collaboration with the bees. I introduce them to the public as performers.  +
- +
-{{:soundbeehive:bee-blob.jpg?350x200|}} {{:soundbeehive:supercolliderpatch.jpg?350x219|}} +
-{{:soundbeehive:sonogram.jpg?350x233|}} +
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-=====3. monitoring: sensors, data transmission and visualisation=====+
 monitoring equipment: bee monitoring and big data sets monitoring equipment: bee monitoring and big data sets
 Complex systems analysis and machine learning are needed for detecting these patterns and to allow prediction and the shaping of ongoing social and biological processes, and to develop novel user interfaces that are needed to make embedded technologies accessible and usable without requiring sophisticated background or training.  Complex systems analysis and machine learning are needed for detecting these patterns and to allow prediction and the shaping of ongoing social and biological processes, and to develop novel user interfaces that are needed to make embedded technologies accessible and usable without requiring sophisticated background or training. 
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 {{:soundbeehive:monitoring-diagram.jpg?350x197|}} {{:soundbeehive:monitoring-diagram.jpg?350x197|}}
 Two temperature sensors and a humidity sensor are installed in the hive. There is also a combined  temperature/humidity sensor placed outside in the rooftop garden  to measure the environmental information.  The monitoring system is logging all these data.  The sensors are connected  to an arduino board,  which is linked to the internet.   With this set up I can follow at any time the warming up  and cooling down in the hive.  Temperature and humidity inside and outside the hive  are important indicators of hive health. Two temperature sensors and a humidity sensor are installed in the hive. There is also a combined  temperature/humidity sensor placed outside in the rooftop garden  to measure the environmental information.  The monitoring system is logging all these data.  The sensors are connected  to an arduino board,  which is linked to the internet.   With this set up I can follow at any time the warming up  and cooling down in the hive.  Temperature and humidity inside and outside the hive  are important indicators of hive health.
- 
  
 {{:soundbeehive:camera.jpg?350x233|}}{{:soundbeehive:webcam.jpg?350x233|}} {{:soundbeehive:camera.jpg?350x233|}}{{:soundbeehive:webcam.jpg?350x233|}}
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 +=====3. the Transparent Beehive=====
 +But the real focus of the Transparent Beehive was to study the behaviour of the bees and to link the development of the colony to the sound it produces. Therefore I installed 8 contact microphones in the frames of the beehive. 
 +When I populated the Transparent Beehive with a swarm, the bees started to fill the frames with comb and slowly they covered the empty hive with tens of thousands of wax cells to store the nectar and the pollen they brought back from their foraging flights. The center frames were reserved for the queen to lay eggs and for the young bees to raise the brood. 
 +
 +{{:soundbeehive:blackboard.jpg?350x233|}} {{:soundbeehive:bees-sensors.jpg?350x233|}}
 +Social insects are a crucial element in our ecosystem. The study and monitoring of the honeybees allows for experimentation with couplings between nature and technology. I like the metaphor of 'reading the development of a colony by browsing through a book'. I  want to set up a real collaboration with the bees. I introduce them to the public as performers. 
 +
 +{{:soundbeehive:bee-blob.jpg?350x200|}} {{:soundbeehive:supercolliderpatch.jpg?350x219|}}
 +{{:soundbeehive:sonogram.jpg?350x233|}}
 +\\
 +\\
  
 =====4. relation to the environment===== =====4. relation to the environment=====
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 {{:soundbeehive:articulation-hive.jpg?350x236|}} {{:soundbeehive:courgettehive-02.jpg?250x255|}}  {{:soundbeehive:articulation-hive.jpg?350x236|}} {{:soundbeehive:courgettehive-02.jpg?250x255|}} 
- 
 I imagine a world where biological fabrication replaces traditional manufacturing and thus where new sustainable beehives can be generated simply by growing them. The design of such beehives will be inspired by art forms from nature and so I am  searching the scientific literature to find the requirements for an ideal honeybee nest and create physical prototypes using smart and organic materials. I imagine a world where biological fabrication replaces traditional manufacturing and thus where new sustainable beehives can be generated simply by growing them. The design of such beehives will be inspired by art forms from nature and so I am  searching the scientific literature to find the requirements for an ideal honeybee nest and create physical prototypes using smart and organic materials.
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 {{:soundbeehive:bio-ingredients.jpeg?350x233|}}{{:soundbeehive:glove-box.jpeg?350x233|}} {{:soundbeehive:bio-ingredients.jpeg?350x233|}}{{:soundbeehive:glove-box.jpeg?350x233|}}
 +DIY bio-based electronics. A temperature sensor (thermistor) consisting of a biological semiconductor, melanin, which is synthesized by bacteria from yeast of kefir.
 +
 {{:soundbeehive:bio-temp-sensor.jpeg?350x233|}} {{:soundbeehive:bio-temp-sensor.jpeg?350x233|}}
-(check peter/melanine)+
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 {{:soundbeehive:urbanfarm02.jpg?350x233|}}{{:soundbeehive:serre_hive.jpg?350x233|}} {{:soundbeehive:urbanfarm02.jpg?350x233|}}{{:soundbeehive:serre_hive.jpg?350x233|}}
-{{:soundbeehive:img_8720.jpg?233x350|}}+In another project I work on the visualization of the temperature in a bee nest with specialized equipment, namely, a thermographic (or infrared) camera. During several months I will make continuous recordings of the thermal structure of a beehive. Temperature is one of the most important parameters in the development of a bee colony. The energy the bees have to spend to keep the inside of the hive to a constant level of 35°C depends also on environmental factors such as the surface and location of foraging fields, the biodiversity, pollution and pesticides. The temperature study of a beehive related to the measured environmental factors can help us to develop intelligent beehives that sustain the colony in their energy management.
  
 +{{:soundbeehive:img_8720.jpg?233x350|}}
 I am working on a new version of the Sound Beehive. We are preparing the setup and soon we will introduce the bees. I am working on a new version of the Sound Beehive. We are preparing the setup and soon we will introduce the bees.
 We mounted 4 piezo microphones on the frames and 4 electret microphones in the rooftop of the hive. The purpose is to take snippets of sound on regular time intervals, on 8 separate audio channels. The 8 channels are mixed into an mp3 stereo file in the computer and than uploaded as a (nearly realtime) playlist on the OKNO server for public access. We mounted 4 piezo microphones on the frames and 4 electret microphones in the rooftop of the hive. The purpose is to take snippets of sound on regular time intervals, on 8 separate audio channels. The 8 channels are mixed into an mp3 stereo file in the computer and than uploaded as a (nearly realtime) playlist on the OKNO server for public access.
bee_laboratory_talk.1399834496.txt.gz · Last modified: 2016/01/13 17:46 (external edit)