Title | PURPLE HIVE PROJECT |
Brand | BEGA |
Product / Service | BEGA B HONEY |
Category | D01. Animal Health |
Entrant | THINKERBELL Melbourne, AUSTRALIA |
Idea Creation | THINKERBELL Melbourne, AUSTRALIA |
Name | Company | Position |
---|---|---|
Adam Ferrier | Thinkerbell | Strategy |
Ben Couzens | Thinkerbell | Creative |
Tom Wenborn | Thinkerbell | Creative |
Nikia Shepherd | Thinkerbell | Strategy |
Tarah Miller | Thinkerbell | Earned |
Rosie Burke | Thinkerbell | Account Service |
Sam Butcher | Thinkerbell | Strategy |
Cale Berry | Thinkerbell | Creative |
Katie Ayling | Thinkerbell | Production |
Lars Oleson | Xailient | Production |
Shivy Yohanandan | Xailient | Production |
Joel Kuperholtz | Vimana | Production |
Vignesh Murana | Vimana | Production |
Dillon Bailey | Honest Fox | Production |
Linda Bailey | Honest Fox | Production |
Nadine Berrange | Thinkerbell | Production |
Adam McNamara | Bega Foods | Executive General Manager |
Matt Gray | Bega Foods | Head of Marketing |
Hannah Saliba | Bega Foods | Brands Communication & PR Manager |
Jacqui Roth | Bega Foods | Marketing Manager Spreads |
Paige Bonnici | Bega Foods | Brands Manager – Sweet Spreads |
Keri Morrison | Bega Foods | Brand Manager |
Michelle Nguyen | Bega Foods | Assistant Brand Manager |
James Coleman | Bega Foods | Marketing Manager, Digital and Communications |
As Australia is the only continent on the planet without Varroa mite, there has never been a need for similar technology. The Purple Hive Project needed to be built from the ground up, for Australian conditions and Australian bees. It also needed to be able to do all computing at the device so as to save power as the device is powered by solar.
Through workshops, stakeholder interviews and field research we identified the biggest threat facing Australian bees… Varroa mite. The global bee industry is under threat from a small yet devastating parasite, the Varroa Mite, which is decimating bee colonies around the world and is a leading cause of colony collapse disorder. Currently Australia is the only inhabited continent on earth without Varroa Mite. Over 2 years we developed The Purple Hive Project, a solar powered beehive that uses A.I computer vision to detect Varroa Mite without the need for manual checks. The hive works by scanning each individual bee that enters the hive. The algorithm can tell the difference between a healthy bee and a bee carrying the microscopic Varroa Mite. If a mite is found an alert is sent to the relevant authority and the outbreak can be immediately contained.
The device is mounted to the front of a standard bee hive. As bees enter the hive they’re filmed by 360° cameras. Each bee is scanned by an AI algorithm that is trained to spot the Varroa mite. The algorithm is run at the device with no need to send data to the cloud unless it detects a mite, this saves immense amounts of battery power and means the device can be run on solar power. If a mite is detected the device sends an immediate alert along with an image of the infected bee to the relevant authorities and the incursion can be quarantined. The device is designed for Australian conditions so all elements are housed within a waterproof 3D printed case. At the heart of the device is a Raspberry Pi, 4k cameras and treated glass for the bee walkway. The unit is powered by solar and is
The Purple Hive Project immediately garnered international attention with consumers and the bee industry. It drove B Honey from 0 to 10% market share without spending a dollar on marketing.