I.

TITLE
Development of a Spectroscopic Sensor-Based Scanner for Assessing Honey Content in
Beehive Boxes

II. PROPONENTS
The proposed research title will be spearheaded by Robert Bryan Antonio, Juan Carlos Castillo,
and Mark Vincent Solis, students from Cavite State University- Main Campus under the program of
Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering

III. RATIONALE

Bees are crucial for both human and environmental health. Honey and other products provide
medical benefits, and bees' role as pollinators makes them essential for food supply. Not all bees make
honey, yet it is one of the primary reasons humans appreciate them. The chemical is a natural sweetener
that has several potential health benefits.

According to (Samarghandian S, Farkhondeh T, Samini F., 2017) honey has been valued since
ancient times for its nutritional and medicinal properties. It has traditionally been used to treat various
ailments such as eye diseases, asthma, throat infections, and wounds.

According to (Bir, C., & Lucas, C., 2022), In the initial year of beekeeping, little to no surplus
honey is expected due to the bees needing time to forage and build their population. The harvesting
process begins once frames are filled with honey, capped, and the nectar flow season ends. It's crucial
to harvest wax-capped cells to ensure the correct moisture content in the honey, as harvesting before
capping can lead to fermentation and spoilage. Open-celled honey may sometimes be harvested but
requires careful monitoring of moisture content. Honey refractometers are recommended for accurately
measuring moisture, which should ideally fall between 17-21%.

According to (S. Cecchi et al 2019), the proposed work aims at developing a multi-sensor
platform to monitor the beehives’ conditions in real time, based on the measurement of sounds emitted
by the bees, temperature, humidity, CO2, weight inside the beehive, and weather conditions outside the
hive. In this paper, a detailed description of the multi-sensor platform is reported and its application in
a real scenario is presented.

IV. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objective of the study is to develop a cost-effective beehive surplus honey detector.

Specifically, it aims to:

1. Design and construct hardware that can detect surplus honey inside beehives without opening it.

2. Reduce the risk of being in contact with bees.

3. Reduce the manual labor of the beekeepers.

4. To determine if the beehive is ready for harvesting.

V. SCOPE AND LIMITATION

The study will focus on precisely identifying and quantifying extra honey stored within
beehives. This study attempts to determine the volume of excess honey gathered by bee colonies,
offering insight on honey production efficiency and probable variables influencing surplus
accumulation.

The study only intends to look at the quantity of surplus honey in the beehive, with no
consideration given to the quality of that surplus honey. While the primary goal remains the accurate
estimate of excess honey volume, this study will avoid digging into elements that influence its
qualitative characteristics. This concentrated strategy attempts to expedite the inquiry, allowing for a
more complete analysis of surplus honey amount while without diverting resources away from quality
evaluation.

VI. METHODOLOGY
Materials

• Microcontroller
• Spectroscopic Sensor
• Light Source
• Buttons
• Power Supply
• Connecting Wires
• Breadboard
• PCB
• Memory Card
• Case
• Other Materials/Circuit Elements

Method
1. System Initialization:
1.1 Power on the system.
1.2 Show a message when it is activated.
2. External Scanning Process:
2.1 Turn on the toggle button to switch to the microcontroller camera module.
2.2 Prepare the system for scanning the exterior of the beehive.
 2.3 Employ spectral analysis of substances, materials, and fluids for classifying
external elements.
2.4 Determine if the beehive is full or not based on the collected data and label
accordingly.
3. Wi-Fi Hotspot Activation:
3.1 Press the specified Wi-Fi button.
3.2 Activate the Wi-Fi hotspot feature on the microcontroller.
3.3 Allow customers/users to join the microcontroller's Wi-Fi network.
4. User Interaction through Mobile Browser:
4.1 Once connected, initiate the website to start the user interface.
4.2 Allow the mobile browser to utilize the microcontroller's camera module.
4.3 Showcase real-time scanning outcomes within the mobile browser interface.
4.4 Guarantee that the results are shown without needing individual device
examination.
VII. BUDGETARY ESTIMATE
Component Quantity Estimated Price (PHP)
Microcontroller 1 7,000.00

Spectroscopic Sensor 1 6,000.00

Light Source 2 400.00

Buttons 3 200.00
Power Supply 1 1,200.00
Connecting Wires (bundle) 1 200.00

Breadboard 1 100.00

PCB 1 100.00

Memory Card 1 500.00

Case 1 5,000.00

Other Materials/Circuit 5,000.00

Elements
TOTAL ₱25,700.00
VIII. EXPECTED OUTPUT

IX. REFERENCES
Bir, C., & Lucas, C. (2022). Beekeeping-honey harvest methods, costs and breakeven calculations.
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.
Cecchi, S., Terenzi, A., Orcioni, S., Spinsante, S., Primiani, V. M., Moglie, F., ... & Isidoro, N. (2019,
May). Multi-sensor platform for real time measurements of honey bee hive parameters. In IOP
Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 275, No. 1, p. 012016). IOP Publishing.
Samarghandian, S., Farkhondeh, T., & Samini, F. (2017). Honey and Health: A Review of Recent
Clinical Research. Pharmacognosy research, 9(2), 121–127. https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-8490.204647