Ok, thanks Mario…
Love the idea and love the research potential.
For those with more experience how much could this reduce the need for hive inspections?
If the numbers collected indicate a healthy hive why crack the hive to inspect?
If the data collected can predict and then notify of a swarm why inspect for queen cells?
Each to their own. The data that could be collected from such a device would be invaluable for all sorts of research projects.
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Hi Stuart, I consider myself to be fairly experienced at beekeeping. I don’t see the need to have one of these gadgets. I also prefer to keep my beekeeping simple.
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The HIVE GENIE is not meant to replace any inspection but to complement it. A lot goes on between inspection and inspection. Sometimes the problem is not inside the hive, but outside. I know I lost enough hives to appreciate the advantages of more information, that’s why we created it. Is it a MUST have, honestly no. Is it good to have, it’s supper cool, because is like Bir Brother of your hive, you’ll be connected every day, not just when you open the hive.
It can also help you decide things like should I move my hive to my garage this winter? Or should I feed? It’s like having a thermometer on your refrigerator, not necessary but super cool for feedback, savings, and more precise setting. Eventually sensors will get into hives more and more. It just makes sense. That is why cars have a lot of them. You still drive the car without needing them, but help you a lot to maintain the car better or give you feedback on speed, temp pressure etc…
Me too. I like playing with bees
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You’re just an old stick in the mud Jeff, but that’s why we love you.
Wow thank you Adam:) The feeling’s mutual. I’m going to wake Wilma up to tell her you said that. It’s only 4.50 am. I’m checking my live rat trap & going back to bed, cheers
Well yeah… but you didn’t actually answer the question. Just said you wouldn’t want to use it for your self. That’s why I said why I might want to use it.
Need and want are two separate things 
What sort problems could a hive have that your device wouldn’t pick up that an inspection would?
If the data shows the hive is going from strength to strength why open it to inspect?
Is this bidirectional counting sophisticated enough to see something smaller, say a hive beetle? It would be a great feature if it could. It would be able to warn you that you have X number of hive beetles entering the hive.
It can detect a hive beetle only if it interrupts the light, most beetles may pass under the light beam. I don’t think they will interrupt the ray. But, what I can do is catch some and check… I’ll let you know next week. Unfortunately I have a lot of those little guys!
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Well, you really cant tell how many beetles you have inside, or any viral disease on their early stages, so far as long as the population remains steady we won’t be able to see any diseases, unless temperature varies or foraging activity or weight. That is why you still have to open the hive from time to time. In the future, electronic noses may detect foul brood and other diseases. For now, we are looking at the new GoPro camera an other cameras so we can figure out a way to control them from the HIVE GENIE and have video, but it still is in the future…
The advantage of open architecture is that we can add a lot of stuff later on as we or anybody else design it…
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Hi Stuart, I agree, I don’t have a mobile phone or ipad, I’m constantly working my bees, so I know what’s going on. Most times:)
Mario,
I love the concept and see it as just one more interesting tool to consider trying. I see you have a robust background in engineering but how do you plan to manage the production of the devices on any kind of scale? That is a very different skill set and I do not see that you have anyone on your team with this sort of background.
Presupposing that you get the great response we all know a 'Gogo campaign can generate, how will you meet the demand?
We’ve met with an electronics manufacturer here in Houston. They can make anywhere from 10 to thousands. You are right, we don’t have manufacturing capabilities nor are we planning to do it ourselves, that is a whole different ball game.
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