Local students win award with a ‘smartHive’ to protect bees
A futuristic beehive equipped with sensors and cameras, designed by a group of Keysborough students, has taken top honours in the BIOTech Futures Challenge competition.
The smartHive, developed by tech savvy Haileybury students, won the Victorian stage of the competition and the team are now preparing to take their design to compete at the national finals in October.
BIOTech Futures is an event for secondary school students across the country who are encouraged to think creatively and to find scientific solutions to global problems.
The Haileybury team decided to focus on exploring a solution to help preserve Australia’s bee population in the face of the recent arrival of Varroa mites to Australia. The tiny parasites attack and feed on honey bees and are a major threat to honey bee colonies.
“There is a lack of solutions to help beekeepers face the challenges caused by Varroa mites, so we developed the smartHive. It’s a comprehensive monitoring system that integrates sensors and cameras into existing beehives,” says Vinuka, who is in Year 10 at Haileybury’s Keysborough campus.
“The smartHive can automatically detect parasites, such as Varroa mites, and also provide beekeepers with important real-time information about hive temperature and humidity.”
“Varroa mites are a significant threat to bee populations – beekeepers in NSW have been devastated by Varroa for the past two years. It’s a growing concern for beekeepers across the country and Varroa was detected in Victoria just last month,” says Joshua, Year 10.
Currently, there is no technology available to detect Varroa mites in hives.
The Haileybury students competed against more than 60 students from schools across Victoria and have been supported by teachers who have encouraged them to test, refine, and keep improving their smartHive technology.
The students attended the National Final at the University of Sydney in late October, where they pitched their project and displayed the unique equipment and an accompanying video, which was later announced as the winner of the Best Prototype Award.
So what’s next for the project and team? The team is continuing to research and find further ways to enhance their creation.
“We are interviewing a NSW Biosecurity Officer to gather more insights and we’ve sent a questionnaire to more than 30 beekeeping clubs in NSW to collect more valuable data. We’re also collecting more data in Queensland and Victoria,” says Saad, Year 10.
“We’re also developing a new prototype so we can continue to improve the smartHive system.”
Team leader, Brandon, Year 11, says the team is ‘incredibly proud and excited’ to have won the Victorian event.
“We’re continuing to improve our project with the insights of teachers and mentors, and we can’t wait to showcase our work,” he says.
