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RESEARCH

In this project we provide some extra info about our project.

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01

The Problem

Biodiversity is declining globally — and our ability to monitor it, especially at the plant level, is limited by costly, slow, and labor-intensive methods. Meanwhile, bees, responsible for pollinating up to 70% of plants, are themselves in danger. Their decline threatens both ecosystems and food systems. We urgently need a scalable, automated way to track environmental health and floral diversity — before it’s too late.

02

Our Solution

Chroma Hive transforms bees into natural biodiversity sensors. By analyzing the color of the pollen bees bring back to their hives, we can indirectly identify the plants they’ve visited — and by extension, the local flora. We use AI-powered cameras, microcontrollers, and machine learning to monitor these pollen colors in real time, creating an intelligent, non-invasive, and cost-effective way to measure biodiversity — every single day.

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03

How It Works

Our system is installed on active beehives and includes:

  • A Raspberry Pi 4 microcontroller

  • A Raspberry Pi Camera v3 (12MP)

  • A low-intensity LED for consistent lighting

As bees enter the hive, images of the pollen on their legs are captured. These are analyzed with OpenCV and TensorFlow, which classify the color signatures and match them to a custom database of plant species. The data (e.g. color codes + frequency) is logged every few minutes and transmitted via SMS to a central data center — ideal for remote areas with limited connectivity.

04

Data, Apps & Visualization

The collected data can be:

  • Accessed via a mobile app (with freemium access to visualizations and paid access to raw data)

  • Analyzed in real-time via a desktop app (PyQt) that offers graphs, heatmaps, and biodiversity metrics

  • Used by beekeepers, scientists, and policy-makers to monitor environmental change, floral dynamics, and pollinator health

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Our Impact

05

Chroma Hive offers a revolutionary, scalable way to monitor biodiversity using bees — turning everyday hive activity into valuable ecological insight. With the potential to be deployed across ecosystems worldwide, it enables:

  • Real-time tracking of floral shifts due to drought, pollution, or land use

  • Non-invasive monitoring without human fieldwork

  • Democratized environmental data that helps protect ecosystems while empowering beekeepers and scientists alike

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