To create the Purple Hive Project a brand new algorithm was developed and trained on 3 data sets across two countries to insure it could identify a Varroa Mite on a bee entering a hive.

As Australia is the only continent on the planet without Varroa mite, there has never been a need for similar technology. The Purple Hive Project needed to be built from the ground up, for Australian conditions and Australian bees. It also needed to be able to do all computing at the device so as to save power as the device is powered by solar.

The Purple Hive is a stand alone, solar powered, AI enabled beehive. The hives are installed in high-risk ports around Australia and are active 24/7. The hive monitors every bee that enters and exits the hive, the AI algorithm can detect a Varroa Mite and send an instant alert to authorities. If a mite is found the hive will quarantined and the threat eliminated.

To train the Purple Hive algorithm we collected 3 data sets. As Australia doesn’t have Varroa Mite we first recorded bees carrying 3D printed Varroa entering and exiting a hive. From there we went to New Zealand and conducted two more data collections using real Varroa Mite, one in a laboratory setting and another in the field.

All gathered data was manually labeled to insure accuracy, it was then used to train the algorithm that was then installed in the Purple Hive. The hive continues to monitor each bee both in Australia and New Zealand to refine and increase its accuracy.

While the Purple Hive Project is still in its infancy, the impact has been huge. It immediately garnered international attention with consumers and the bee industry. It also drove B Honey from 0 to 10% market share without spending a dollar on marketing.