Buzzing towards a brighter future, one bee at a time.
BeeZ is an innovative apiary that sprays healthy solutions into the hive, saving bees from Varroa mites and enhancing their health. This contributes to a healthier natural world.
Role - Project lead, UX Research
Duration - 2 weeks
Team - group of 3
Tools - Rhino, keyshot, figma
Bees, vital for biodiversity, face decline due to varroa mites, temperature shifts, and predators, with mites causing over 40% of annual colony losses. Beekeepers vigilantly protect these essential pollinators.
Among many chemical solutions for controlling Varroa mites, sulfur emerges as the most appealing due to its natural properties. When diluted in a 1:400 ratio with water, sulfur's toxicity is mitigated,
creating an effective treatment against mites.
solution aids in mite control but also enhances honey quality compared to merely providing sugar water to bees.
Product Development
Recognizing sulfur's benefits, our next step is to create a product that delights both bees and their keepers.
Secure and Sustainable
The product is designed to efficiently distribute the sulfur solution and protect the bees in the apiary that is highly recyclable and cheaply replacable.
The material is expanded polypropylene, which is light weight, easily recyclable material that handles well with the temperatures.
Efficient and Altruistic
The product will spray sulfur into the apiary, and the solution that drips down will enrich the soil, which often lacks sulfur. This will promote a healthier environment.
Opportunity for Improvement
The automatic distribution system enables beekeepers to monitor bees and apiaries efficiently, saving significant time.
The product's development offers vast potential, reducing beekeepers' efforts through automation and monitoring against external threats.
The monitoring system alerts beekeepers to necessary apiary maintenance while promoting environmental protection with recyclable materials.
Customers receive jars for delivery, earning discounts on future purchases by returning them for recycling.
Restaurants gain extra discounts by supplying eggshells(contains Sulfur) for sulfur production and recycling jars.
Result
The prompt for the project was "Closing the loop in circularity." I was able to successfully create sustainability not only for the market and customers, but also on a larger scale, which is the ecosystem. By this idea and product, my team and I was able to place in 2nd place in this challenge.
Takeaways
Working under pressure of time
Quickly catch an opportunity through research
Understand the problem in the wider range and larger scale
