Most of the world’s beekeepers have been stung by the damage caused by the deadly Varroa destructor mite, but Australian beekeepers have been offered new hope of fighting the parasite, thanks to an artificial intelligence (AI) based image recognition system that is helping spot the mites long before humans do. Because the brown mites are easy to spot on the bodies of infected bees, new Purple Hives incorporate a Raspberry Pi microcomputer linked to a 360-degree camera and AI-based image recognition.
The units – each a working sentinel hive – scan each and every bee for mites, or the tell-tale deformities they have caused, as they enter or leave the hive. The solar-powered system was created at the behest of Bega Cheese Limited venture B Honey, with the help of technology company Vimana Tech and computer-vision specialist Xailient.
The system was tested in New Zealand, which already has varroa mite infections, and in Australia using 3D-printed simulated mites. When a mite is detected, the system raises an alert on a smartphone app and sends an image of the bee to confirm what it spotted – allowing the hive to be quarantined from the rest of the stock. Xailient’s light-weight AI algorithm has been designed to run directly on the hive device, allowing the hives to run independently wherever they are situated.
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