HiveIQ – Beekeeping Platform

The timber beehive developed in 1851 by Lorenzo Langstroth forms the basis for todays commercial beehives. The form, function and materials used remains largely unchanged from his original design. Honeybees are the masters of climate control in their hives. Maintaining brood temperature at 34°-36°C is critical for honeybee colonies to rear brood, survive and flourish. Timber hives provide little to no insulation due to the minimal thermal barrier they provide. There is a large body of research supporting how the increased thermal efficiency of beehives benefits both colony health and productivity. Commercial beekeeping is migratory and involves heavy duty handling.

Built to handle the rigours of commercial operations the HiveIQ beehive provides a ruggedised platform designed to endure palletised commercial transport and handling. The HiveIQ beehive uses High Density polystyrene to insulate the hive enclosure. By improving the colony environment bees are better able to build honey stores, maintain colony health, resist disease and recover faster from their winter hibernation. The HiveIQ beehive will form the backbone of the HiveIQ data and software platform currently in development. The hive base will incorporate monitoring technology to provide users with real time data feeds to assist with hive and colony management.

The HiveIQ platform provides an improved beehive for commercial and hobby users while providing platform entry to a data enabled hive/apiary management system enabling better colony management decision making. Honeybees form a critical component in the food production chain through the crop pollination service they provide. Commercial operations will benefit significantly from improved hive productivity and data enabled business intelligence to drive more efficient management of remote apiary sites. The HiveIQ beehive is designed for a 10 to 15 year lifespan, minimising the impact of materials usage and providing a sustainable and durable solution for both commercial and hobby beekeepers.

The HiveIQ hive is designed to optimise colony health. Improved thermal efficiency allows the colony to flourish and better resist disease. Eliminating internal areas for pests to reside reduces colony loss and assists in resistance to disease. The hive chamber design ensures minimal build of unnecessary wax, comb and propolis leading to more efficient colony activity. Careful consideration of internal ventilation and airflow minimises colony effort required to maintain optimal hive temperature and humidity. The HiveIQ beehive forms the basis for a first of its kind, fully integrated digital solution for beekeepers. The data monitoring software available via mobile or desktop devices will allow commercial and hobbyist beekeepers to remotely monitor their hives and apiaries. The data presentation layer will allow users to track their colonies progress and inform better decision making on colony health and productivity. Users can access data streams including hive weight, temperature, humidity and audio. Machine learning provides insights into productivity and predictive alerts for events such as swarming, pest attack, environmental change and more. HiveIQ has launched an advanced manufacturing plant in Australia (ACT) to manufacture the High Density polystyrene hive components. This is a first of its kind facility in Australia.