Automated beekeeping platform powered

by AI that increases honey production by

50%, reduces labour use by 90%, and
reduces colony loss by 80%.
Fact Sheet

Project Information

BeeHome Funded under

INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
Grant agreement ID: 854754
Total cost
 € 71 429

EU contribution
DOI
€ 50 000
10.3030/854754 

Coordinated by
Closed project
BEEWISE TECHNOLOGIES LTD

Start date End date

  Israel
1 January 2019 30 April 2019

Project description

AI to help save busy bees

Bees are miracle workers. As pollinators, these winged insects ensure food security
and nutrition and maintain biodiversity and ecosystems. Three out of four crops
producing fruit and seeds depend on pollinators. While the demand for pollination
increases, bee colonies are collapsing. In this context, the EU-funded BeeHome
project will develop a platform designed to automate beekeeping, honey production,
and optimise pollination. Powered by robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), the new

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platform will house up to 40 hives and streamline their activities by tending to the
needs of each bee colony, preventing migration and potential problems to keep bees
safe and busy.

Objective
In recent years annual colony losses have reached an unprecedented ~30%.
Sustaining apiaries in the face of Colony Collapse Disorder based on traditional
labour-intensive work practices has become a determinate on apiaries’ profitability.
Difficulties associated with production of honey combined with the ongoing increase
in consumer demand for results in a sharp rise of honey prices. Furthermore, since
the 1990’s the rate of increase in pollination-based agriculture has sharply increased,
surpassing the average increase in the number of hives. This increase in demand for
pollination services combined with the ongoing growing colony loss crises creates a
severe shortage in bees for pollination - bees are highly effective pollinators with an
annual global contribution to crop productivity of €147 billion. BeeHome is a patent-
protected modular commercial apiary that automates beekeeping powered by AI.
The BeeHome platform consists of hardware and software solution that fully
automates beekeeping and honey production and optimizes pollination. The platform
will house up to 40 colonies (hives) and streamline their activities. The hardware and
software architecture enables BeeHome to act upon information, thus taking care of
the individual needs of each bee colony, preventing and mitigating of potential
problems before they become detrimental to the health of the colony. Such an
approach will greatly diminish colony loss (80% reduction), considerably increase
yields (50% increase), and significantly reduce labour costs (90% reduction). Bees’
role as pollinators is crucial: 30% of the food humans consume originates from bee
pollination. The scale of current demand dictates that now is the right time to
introduce this level of innovation to this very laggard industry. BeeHome is a
complete paradigm shift within the field of beekeeping. The product will introduce AI,
computer vision and state of the art robotics to the field of beekeeping.

Fields of science

agricultural sciences  agriculture, forestry, and fisheries  agriculture  horticulture  fruit growing
natural sciences  biological sciences  zoology  entomology  apidology
medical and health sciences  health sciences  nutrition
agricultural sciences  animal and dairy science  domestic animals  animal husbandry
agricultural sciences  animal and dairy science  apiculture

Programme(s)

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H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs MAIN PROGRAMME

H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges

H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies

Topic(s)

EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020 - SME instrument

Call for proposal

H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020

See other projects for this call

Sub call

H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1

Funding Scheme

SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1

Coordinator

BEEWISE TECHNOLOGIES LTD

Net EU contribution
€ 50 000,00

Address
Kalil 85, D. N. Oshrat

2523300 Oshrat

  Israel 

Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)

Links
Contact the organisation 
Participation in EU R&I programmes 
HORIZON collaboration network 

Other funding
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Other funding
€ 21 429,00

EC signature date: 28 January 2019

Last update: 15 August 2022

Record number: 220635

Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/854754

© European Union, 2023

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