BeeWaze, which specializes in monitoring beehives to provide insights into the pollination process for smart farming use cases in Latin America, has adopted Quectel’s EG915-U LTE Cat 1 module to enable smart pollination monitoring via IoT technology in beehives. The BeeWaze system monitors the relevant variables for the vitality of hives and, during the flowering of fruit plantations, monitors the pollination process, proving data on the flow of bees that go out to pollinate plants. This monitoring allows preventive or remedial actions to be taken, positively impacting sustainability and increasing productivity in agricultural and beekeeping production.

BeeWaze selected the Quectel EG915-U on the advice of S4IoT, its IoT hardware supplier, which is based in Mexico, because with one module it can cover all the Latin American countries it operates in. These include Mexico, Peru and Chile and the company will soon add Colombia and Argentina. “With this module, we can install our product anywhere in America and we are sure that it will work immediately in any carriers with 4G coverage,” says Monica Herrera, the founder and CEO of BeeWaze. “The most critical issue is to have coverage in the countryside, where most of the farmers and beekeepers have their hives installed. It was also critical to have a low power modem solution as we use a solar panel to power our IoT module.”

In order for BeeWaze to deliver the smart pollination monitoring services required, the module sends the data from sensors installed in the hives to the cloud and the BeeWaze server and, through its own algorithms and its web platform, BeeWaze can display the temperature, humidity and weight of the hive and the flow of bees per minute and per day that went out to pollinate the surrounding area.

BeeWaze enables agricultural producers to evaluate the hives hired to pollinate their plantations through the flow of bees. The more bees, the better the pollination and the higher the production. For beekeeper clients, BeeWaze enables insights into the status of their smart beehives regardless of where they are located. This allows them to physically check hives only when the variables are out of range, avoiding unnecessary travel costs and enabling them to save their hives when necessary due to lack of food or water.

The Quectel EG915-U is a series of LTE Cat 1 modules optimized specially for M2M and IoT applications. It delivers maximum data rates of 10Mbps downlink and 5Mbps uplink and operates in an extended temperature range of -40°C to +85°C. Designed in a compact and unified form factor of 23.6mm x 19.9mm x 2.4mm, the EG915-U series offers a rich set of internet protocols and industry-standard interfaces.

BeeWaze selected Quectel because of the compatibility and cost efficiency of its modules, its carrier certification and its technical support. “The local team in the region has helped us a lot to develop new products and be sure to use state-of-the-art technology,” adds Herrera. “We feel supported by the quality of the Quectel modules that allows us to work with the certainty that they will respond to our needs in the agricultural fields where we install our equipment.”

Ricardo Simon – Quectel Wireless Solutions Sales Director LATAM, added: “We’re delighted that BeeWaze has selected our EG915-U series of LTE Cat 1 modules to power its smart pollination monitoring products that are enabling farmers to maximize yields and beekeepers to ensure their bees are being kept in optimum conditions. We’re proud to be helping BeeWaze enable smart agriculture that is helping to build a smarter world.”