[pliedl]

I know this has been discussed previously but technology changes and I haven't found any recent information on the subject. We have a bee education center at Warner Nature Center in Marine on the St. Croix, MN. Below is a picture of the outside of the bee observation room. What we wish to do is set up 2 monitors inside the observation room and have the ability to project "Power Point" type pictures to the monitors and/or live images from a "BeeCam" set up to monitor outside activity (e.g. hive entrance). I have a basic knowledge of computers but I could use some help on which type of camera to buy, how to interface it with a computer, etc. This facility will be used by school groups to learn the importance of pollinators particularly the honey bee. Thanks -any help would be appreciated. :scratch:

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[ralfonzetti]

The simpler your setup the better especially if your budget is tight, of course the more you spend the more sophisticated your setup could be but, I cannot tell you how many museums and places I have gone to and their equipment is broken or at some sort of windows blue screen.

One simple option would be to setup a simple 2 camera or single camera DVR system stay away from network cameras unless your going to spend 300 or more on just the camera. (maybe $150 to 300 depending on the quality of camera) and hook it to a monitor which always displays the video.

then have a second monitor hooked to a small PC or laptop which has a slideshow on loop.. powerpoint or whatever software. even windows with a screen saver and pictures in a folder, when you want new pictures and content throw them in the folder or edit the powerpoint.

you could do it all for a 300-500 dollars if you can find a hand-me down PC. and some decent sized monitors cheap or free.

Of course the cadillac of display's and camera's could be used and you could spend thousands, but if you ask me that money is better paid to pay staff to talk and teach about beekeeping directly.

 

[EyesOnHives]

have the ability to project "Power Point" type pictures to the monitors and/or live images from a "BeeCam" set up to monitor outside activity (e.g. hive entrance). I have a basic knowledge of computers but I could use some help on which type of camera to buy, how to interface it with a computer, etc. This facility will be used by school groups to learn the importance of pollinators particularly the honey bee. Thanks -any help would be appreciated. :scratch:

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Awesome project! I'm sorry we're showing up 2 years too late to help directly, but if you're still interested in such a system, that's exactly what our team has built!

EyesOnHives calculates the number of bees flying in front of a hive and uploads data and video to a web platform for beekeepers to monitor their bee colonies.

Data and videos are stored in the cloud and accessible on a convenient web platform you can view on any device. You can check it out at keltronixinc.com.

Here's a couple of pics -

Yes we can detect things like queenlessness with our alg!

Way more details and videos etc over at our website if you're interested!

Cheers,

-Kelton