A connected scale is installed underneath the hive since it measures the weight of the hive. Most manufacturers offer scales in the form of a tray that is placed under the hive.
Due to the dimensions of a hive (such as 50 x 43 cm), these devices can be heavy and cumbersome—not practical for moving, even if the beekeeper simply wishes to place the hive scale under another hive.
BeeGuard hive scales offer a completely different design: the scale or hive weight sensor comes in the form of an aluminum bar that slides under the hive. After simply tilting it, a wedge or other sensor will be placed on the opposite side to balance the hive.
Thanks to this design the weight of the hive scale is only 1 kg—not at all cumbersome. The beekeeper can easily place it in a vehicle. The hive scale is connectable, meaning it can transmit data to the Internet that the beekeeper can then consult via the application, whenever and wherever.
Most manufacturers incorporate a transmitter directly in the scale, whether it’s a Sigfox, LoRa, or GSM transmitter. This position on the scale—underneath the hive—presents a challenge for long-range transmitters, so these manufacturers often offer remote antennas to improve the signal. The beekeeper who chooses these systems will therefore have to adjust an antenna and adapt to a cable that will run between his hives and a stand. At BeeGuard, we chose to use a transmission relay. Instead, the hive scale uses 100% wireless sensor nodes, and the beekeeper can install as many scales as he wants without multiplying subscriptions.
The GPS hive scale and the connected weather station both offer transmitters. Throughout the day, the scale under the hive measures the weight once an hour and stores the data. Then at transmission times of the beekeeper’s choice, the hive alarm or the weather station retrieves all data and transmits it to BeeGuard’s servers. The beekeeper can find all the weight data of his hives and analyze them in the apiary management application to draw conclusions and decide on scheduling activities.