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u-blox is a leading global provider of positioning and wireless communication technologies used in a wide variety of industries and markets, including automotive, industrial, and consumer electronics. The company is committed to developing innovative solutions to meet customers‘ stringent requirements for high-precision positioning and communication technologies. u-blox’ NINA-W106 module, a wireless communication module with integrated Bluetooth and Wi-Fi functionality, provides a powerful and flexible platform for a variety of Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

The application in a sustainable beehive system is a prominent example of the u-blox module's innovative solution. The system provides beekeepers and researchers with a powerful tool by integrating sensor technology to monitor bee behaviour and the environmental conditions of the hive. Such systems are capable of monitoring the growth of bee populations, tracking individual bees for research and detecting the birth of new colonies, as well as measuring environmental parameters to reveal correlations in bee activity.

Slovenian beekeepers have developed AŽ hives to support native bee species, which are often decorated with hand-painted artistic motifs, a cultural feature unique to Slovenia. Currently, the total number of registered beehives in Slovenia exceeds 210,000, and there are approximately five beekeepers for every 1,000 inhabitants.

Jaka Bevk is a Slovenian engineer who uses technology from u-blox to monitor the behaviour of bees. His idea was to integrate sensors into the beehive to detect whether bees enter or leave the hive via infrared sensors and to use other sensors to detect specific markings on the backs of worker bees, drones or queens. u-blox NINA-W106 Bluetooth/Wi-Fi module sits on the top PCB platform and is responsible for receiving all the signal information and sending it to the cloud.

The design of the NINA-W106 module allows it to process all the collected data in one location. jaka embeds the application code directly into the module and compiles it with the help of tools such as Arduino or Visual Studio Code. The code processes the data collected from the sensors without the need for an external application processor.Another great feature of the NINA-W106 module is that it is extremely cost effective and power efficient, supporting both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, allowing the data to be accessed in both ways.

In addition, such a system would be able to measure hive flow and activity, track bees leaving and returning to the hive in real time, store statistics for post-processing, and predict the probability of special events (e.g., swarm formation and cross-colony robberies) occurring based on algorithmic data processing. Notifications and alerts are sent to end-users via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi technology, and environmental parameters are measured, including temperature and humidity at hive entrances and rainfall data from national radar raw data.

With the effects of climate change and human activity, the survival of bees is under serious threat. Without human intervention, new bee colonies have less than a 25 per cent chance of surviving their first winter. This percentage continues to fall, and at the current rate, bees will eventually become completely dependent on human help for reproduction.

Therefore, technological solutions like u-blox are of great importance in protecting bee populations and maintaining ecological balance. By tracking the behaviour of bees in real time, we can better understand their needs and take appropriate measures to protect them. This not only helps to ensure the reproduction of the species, but also provides insights into the current state of the entire ecosystem so that proactive measures can be taken to prevent or address harmful situations.