Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM
Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM

Projects

Sens4Bee

image teaser-Sense4Bees
© Micro-Sensys GmbH
Mock-up of a bee-mounted RFID sensor for tracking colony health, made possible by a miniature battery designed by Fraunhofer IZM
Biene mit Solar-Batterie-Mikromodul
© Fraunhofer IZM
Bee with solar-battery module

Sens4Bee – Monitoring colony health with RFID sensors capturing data in beehives and on individual bees

Silicon technology is used to develop an extremely miniature lithium battery and solar power module. Micro-Sensys GmbH is working to integrate these with tiny sensor transponders and data loggers with RFID interfaces into a module that is lightweight and small enough to be carried by individual worker bees.

Project information

Duration: Three years, started in March 2021

Funding reference number: 281C306C19

Projec website: https://service.ble.de/


The project is supported by funding from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The Federal Office for Agriculture and Food acts as the project sponsor as part of its innovation support initiative. The project proposal was entered acc. to the Ministry’s “notice on the promotion of research projects on the protection of bees and other pollinator insects”.

Project Partners

  • Micro-Sensys GmbH
  • Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung – UFZ
  • Institut für Bienenforschung am Julius Kühn-Institut
  • Heinrich Holtermann KG
  • Deutscher Imkerbund e. V.

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Projects at Fraunhofer IZM

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© Micro-Sensys GmbH

News

On the trail of bee mortality with energy-autonomous sensors

Bees not only provide us humans with honey, but thanks to the pollination of herbs, shrubs and trees, they are significantly responsible for the preservation of species. As a result, they generate around 1.6 billion euros for agriculture and food production in Germany.

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