Getting Started
The HIVE /hʌɪv/ SCIENTIA /skiˈen.ti.a/ system is a NodeMCU based data capture system for Bee Hives, Apiaries and other scenarios where gathering and analysing environmental data (such as temperature, humidity, CO2 and VOCs) is required.
How it works
Environmental sensor data is passed via a cable link to a hub which in turn communicates with an MQTT Broker over WIFI. The Broker then makes this data available to subscribers who can publish it in readable and analysed form.
In the case of Hive Scientia, sensor data is gathered by a NodeMCU device which makes the data available to a Mosquitto MQTT Broker installed on a local Unix machine. The Hive Scientia application (written in Python) then subscribes to this data and gathers it for further processing.
Hub
The hub is the central publishing point of a group of sensors. It consists of a NodeMCU, I2C Multiplexer, SD Card Slot and a charging system. The sensors can be arranged on branches (port) thanks to the I2C Multiplexer which also allows for multiple sensors of the same type. For more information see Electronics.
MQTT Broker
It is imagined that many will choose to use a Raspberry Pi as the local Unix server as it provides a low cost and compact solution that can for fill the demands of both the Broker and Subscriber.
Whilst any PC capable of running Unix can be used we have also had success installing Unix (Ubuntu) as a Virtual Machine on a NAS box. The Python software should run on a Windows machine and Mosquitto is available for Windows 10 but this is untested. Likewise online MQTT broker and data analysis solutions are untested.
Installation and Setup
For information on setting up and installing see: