Publication Type

Journal Article

Publication Date (Issue Year)

2021

Journal Name

MDPI-Sensors

Abstract

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Self-Powered Smart Beehive Monitoring and Control System (SBMaCS) †

by Elias Ntawuzumunsi 1,*, Santhi Kumaran 2and Louis Sibomana 3     1 African Center of Excellence in Internet of Things (ACEIoT), College of Science and Technology, University of Rwanda, KN Street Nyarugenge, Kigali 3900, Rwanda 2 Department of Computer Engineering, School of ICT, Copperbelt University, Kitwe 21692, Zambia 3 National Council of Science and Technology (NCST), Kigali 2285, Rwanda * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. † This paper is an extended version of our paper published in Ntawuzumunsi, E.; Kumaran, S. Design and Implementation of Smart Bees Hiving & Monitoring System. In the proceedings of the International Conference of 2019 IST-Africa Week Conference (IST-Africa), Nairobi, Kenya, 8–10 May 2019. Sensors 2021, 21(10), 3522; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21103522 Submission received: 15 March 2021 / Revised: 17 April 2021 / Accepted: 26 April 2021 / Published: 19 May 2021 (This article belongs to the Section Intelligent Sensors) Downloadkeyboard_arrow_down  Browse Figures   Versions Notes

Abstract

Beekeeping in Africa has been practiced for many years through successive generations and along inherited patterns. Beekeepers continue to face challenges in accessing consistent and business-driven markets for their bee products. In addition, the honeybee populations are decreasing due to colony collapse disorder (CCD), fire, loss of bees in swarming, honey buggers and other animals, moths, starvation, cold weather, and Varoa mites. The main issues are related to un-controlled temperature, humidity, and traditional management of beekeeping. These challenges result in low production of honey and colony losses. The control of the environmental conditions within and surrounding the beehives are not available to beekeepers due to the lack of monitoring systems. A Smart Beehive System using Internet of Things (IoT) technology would allow beekeepers to keep track of the amount of honey created in their hives and bee colonies even when they are far from their hives, through mobile phones, which would curtail the challenges currently faced by the beekeepers. However, there are challenges in the design of energy-efficient embedded electronic devices for IoT. A promising solution is to provide energy autonomy to the IoT nodes that will harvest residual energy from ambient sources, such as motion, vibrations, light, or heat. This paper proposes a Self-Powered Smart Beehive Monitoring and Control System (SBMaCS) using IoT to support remote follow-up and control, enhancing bee colonies’ security and thus increasing the honey productivity. First, we develop the SBMaCS hardware prototype interconnecting various sensors, such as temperature sensor, humidity sensor, piezoelectric transducer—which will work as a weight sensor—motion sensor, and flame sensor. Second, we introduce energy harvesting models to self-power the SBMaCS by analyzing the (i) energy harvested from adult bees’ vibrations, (ii) energy harvesting through the piezoelectric transducer, and (iii) radio frequency energy harvesting. Third, we develop a mobile phone application that interacts with the SBMaCS hardware to monitor and control the various parameters related to the beehives. Finally, the SBMaCS PCB layout is also designed. SBMaCS will help beekeepers to successfully monitor and control some important smart beekeeping activities wherever they are using their mobile phone application.

Keywords

Smart Beehive Monitoring, Control System (SBMaCS), energy harvesting, beekeeping, smart beehive, piezoelectric transducer, bees’ vibration

Grantee Name(s)

Elias Ntawuzumunsi

Project Title

Smart Bee Hiving Technology

Type of Grant

Cooperability Grant

Thematic Area

ICTs Including Big Data and Artificial Intelligence

Funding Statement

This research was possible because of the financial support from the ACEIoT (African Center of Excellence in Internet of Things) which resides at the College of Science and Technology, University of Rwanda

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