BeeDar from BroodMinder, a hive entrance monitoring system

BroodMinder released another kind of device in 2023. Kudos.

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Thank you @Andreas for sharing,
Yes, we’re using it since last year. This season is also running with commercial beekeeping. Originally I thought it would be something “fun” for backyard beekeepers, but it happens that the insight it brings (moreover if combined with weight and brood) is extremely useful for real life applications. Correct me if I am wrong but it’s maybe the very first “beecounter” running on simple AA batteries (and no wires :wink: )

Many thanks @lorenzo for the insights and interesting to hear that a combined data analysis is much more meaningful than the look at each single data stream! Did you / BroodMinder the data analysis in a traditional way or did you use some AI components?

You wrote beecounter – in relation to BeeDar – in quotation marks and I think this is necessary. At least as I understood the technology till now. BeeDar can measure flight activity but can not measure the amount of incoming and departing bees, or can the system differentiate between the directions?

We are talking a lot about open source and developing things as open source and open hardware here at hiveeyes, so a disappointing downside of the BeeDar system: Rich Morris (self named “Lead Drone at BroodMinder” :-) mentioned in the BeeDar installation video under BroodMinder-BeeDar Installation - YouTube that the technology is license from Herb Aumann / Maine Biosensors LLC, so I fear it is at least not open hardware.

Hi @clemens you’re right. As a general rule, BeeDar is not actually counting individual bees, but activity. However it is amazing how close it can be for a non intrusive device.
We would like all was free and open and I believe BroodMinder does a part of it (Andreas posted the DIY section of the online (open) user-guide, we’re also running beecounted.org and there’s a free account membership. Herb Aumann does a great job and has also published it in the literature.
But we also need to run a business… I believe it’s understandable.

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