Sustainability Problem:

Apiary Inspectors of America survey shows that US beekeepers lost 42 percent of their honeybees from April 2014 to April 2015. The decline of bees threatens our food production. As well, colony losses pose significant economic threats to the livelihood of beekeepers. 

Technology: 

iBuzzHive is a 3-D printed wooden beehive that has sensors and high definition video camera with an app for remote monitoring of bee health and growth of colonies. Urban beekepers can monitor their bee colonies using IoT technology in a non-invasive way.

Using wifi, the BuzzCloud App monitors tells surrounding temperature, humidity,  number of bees in colony and other data to show the overall condition of the hive’s health.

This technology would be great for the resurgence of interest in urban beekeeping.

Sources:

http://www.treehugger.com/gadgets/buzzcloud-urban-beekeeping-ibuzzhive.html

http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-agriculture/us-beekeepers-lost-almost-half-their-honeybees-2014-15.html

Stakeholders:

• beekeepers especially urban beekeepers
• interested government organizations such as US Department of Agriculture and Apiary Inspector of America
• interested non-profit organizations such as Bee Informed Partnership
• investors and general public who can help with funding
• agriculturists who depend on pollination for food production

Implementation:

1. This technology is at its early stage. BuzzCloud project team will turn to crowdfunding to launch the product once the prices and specs have been nailed down
2. After launching, mass production of iBuzzHive and App would lower the cost and make excellent value for investor .
3. Next steps include re-assessment of the effectiveness of this technology and its impact to the beekeeping industry.