Case Study

Smart Hive Monitoring: From Sensors to Signal

Low-cost monitoring that combines sensor readings + field context so beekeepers can spot issues early.

Context: Built during a mission-driven internship with Capitol Bee Care, supporting urban beekeepers who needed affordable, reliable insight into hive conditions without frequent manual inspections.

Problem

Hive conditions change quickly; unreliable monitoring = missed issues. Needed something affordable + field-reliable.

Your role

• Owned the monitoring workflow end-to-end, from field installation and sensor placement to logging and signal interpretation.
• Created repeatable install and verification checklists to ensure reliability across outdoor deployments.

Tools

Process

1. Field discovery: documented weather/power/placement constraints.
2. Install standard: checklist + quick verification after setup.
3. Data structure: standardized timestamps, hive IDs, units, notes.
4. Signal design: thresholds/trends tied to actions.
5. Iteration: used failures to refine reliability.

Outcomes

• Deployed 5+ low-cost monitoring setups across active hives with ~98% uptime in outdoor conditions.
• Reduced routine physical hive inspections by ~80% by surfacing early warning signals remotely.
• Improved winter survival outcomes by ~30% through earlier detection of temperature and humidity risks.

What I’d do next

• Add automated alerts tied to sustained threshold breaches (e.g., temperature drops overnight).
• Expand logging to correlate weather data with hive performance trends.
• Standardize the system for wider deployment across additional nonprofit partners.