Tech and the environment: Smart hives help stop the disappearance of bees around the world

Oracle and the British association World Bee Project sign an unprecedented partnership between nature and technology

 

Oracle and The World Bee Project have just announced an unprecedented initiative to facilitate understanding of the disappearance of bees and the protection of the species. The new program uses cloud technology to understand the habits of bees: the world's most important pollinating species for agricultural ecosystems. Called "The World Bee Project Hive Network", the project collects data from a network of connected hives. Then the data will be uploaded to the Oracle Cloud system and evaluated with analytics tools like artificial intelligence (AI) and data visualization to give researchers new insights into the relationship between bees and the environment. 

 

Through the project, researchers will be able to "listen" to bees – analyzing complex acoustic data captured inside smart hives, including the movements of their wings and legs. With the help of other high-precision measurements – including temperature, humidity and honey production – researchers will be able to monitor the swarms closely, detect patterns and predict behavior. Thus, conservationists and beekeepers will be able to protect the colonies and avoid, for example, swarming at the wrong time or protect them from predators such as the frightening Asian wasp. The data will inform beekeepers about different conditions in colonies throughout the year to help with hive management. 

 

"Our lives are strongly linked to bees," explains Sabiha Rumani Malik, Founder and Executive Chairman of The World Bee Project CIC. "Protecting bees and other pollinators can help solve problems related to poverty and the global food supply, as well as reduce the loss of biodiversity and damage to ecosystems. The partnership with Oracle Cloud represents an unprecedented marriage between nature and technology. The project will make more and more people aware of the importance of preserving pollinators, as well as enabling advanced research and action on a scale that hitherto seemed impossible. The more we learn about the relationships between pollination, food and well-being human, the greater will be our commitment to protect bees and other pollinators. In this way, we will help protect the planet and ourselves".

 

The data and information obtained using the Oracle Cloud will be made available for research and conservation projects aimed at protecting bees around the world. The World Bee Project Hive Network initiative shares resources and promotes partnerships with the aim of increasing its impact and creating more comprehensive actions for the preservation of bees.

 

For John Abel, Project Director of Oracle Cloud, "technology is changing the rules of conservation initiatives" "With the use of cloud technology, the World Bee Project will for the first time have access to truly global and up-to-date health information of bees. That way, researchers will have the information they need to work with governments and beekeepers to stop the decline in bee numbers around the world."

 

The World Bee Project CIC is a partner of the Faculty of Agriculture, Policy and Development at the University of Reading, England, one of the most important agricultural faculties in the world. In the future, partners look forward to using cutting-edge IT and other expertise to support ecological intensification.