This week we saw Mr Simier, he explained us what the "bee project" is and we now know more about it. Mr Simier is an IT teacher, when he began to teach, there wasn't a lot of computers in school. Now, in Touchard, there are 1500 computers.

This project was presented to the Board of Directors. The aim is to raise awareness among young people on different themes such as endangered species. It was important to go beyond words and present a concrete project, that's why they decided to build these hives.

Two hives will be built in which there will be 30 000 bees; one in our school and one in another school, to see in which hive the bees live best. The connected hive allows to study the health of bees, by different technics. The first parameter is the indoor temperature, which must be between 34°C and 36°C. If it's too low there may be a microbial infection and if it's too high the larvae are in danger. The second parameter is the weight of the hive, which makes it possible to evaluate their activity. The higher the weight is, the more active are the bees and so, the most healthy.

The inhabitants of Le Mans are mobilizing too! They have proposed and voted for different projects linked to sustainable development, like the connected hives. The town is going to join the project, since a few hives are going to be created and installed in the public gardens of Le Mans. The aim is to set up a video camera inside these hives, so that the inhabitants can see bee's activity.

To study bee's activities in the hive, they use a software entirely created by the BTS (advanced technician's certificate) students. The software has the power of a computer. This is a system that is equipped with several sensors. There is for example a sensor fot the weight: the scale. This scale enables to weigh the quantity of honey produced by the bees. There is also a sensor for the temperature. The software is also equipped with a system that transmits the information obtained by the sensors of the computer. Those information are transferred via the telephone network. Then the informations are automatically saved on a Cloud and retransmitted as graphics.

He told us that they can make a graphic thanks to the values of the Cloud. In a circular graphic, the wind is represented with arrows. The students of BTS and himself can compare values for example the humidity with the temperature. This software has been realised by students BTS. There is also a histogram which accounts for the number of times that we measure the temperature for example. The students have also fabricated a scale to weigh the beehive, it is sensitive to the temperature of the environment. There are sensors in the scale.