We all caught flights to Washington D.C. and had arrived by the 17th. We were extremely excited to see that a lot of the other teams were there. We worked extremely hard on preparing and polishing our presentation. We excitedly await the chance to show the world what we have created to help bees. Stay tuned!
-Aeshon
0 Comments
Rich, our first customer, has made history for SafeHive - he is now our first repeat customer! He liked our frames so much that he ordered a custom frame to fit around 2 beehives. We also have gotten our first order for a fog harvester. Tarun from TeezBees ordered a fog harvester. Now e can proudly say that we have orders for everything we have created!
-Mihir On June 1st, we took a field trip to a meeting of the San Mateo Bee Guild. We presented SafeHive there, and many people seemed to understand the potential of our product. We had one 48" by 48" frame, one rectangular PVC pipe fog harvester, and some of our V1 fog harvesters. We also had a packaged frame to show how we could sell it. Mr. Hall was kind enough to make an entire slide all about us. We were very fortunate to have this opportunity to showcase our product. Thank you Art Hall!
-Mihir I write in a busy time. We are ecstatic at the news and determined to gain publicity and flourish. We recently deployed our solution to our first customer! He seemed very pleased with the appearance of our solution, and we are very hopeful for good results in the coming days. We have been continuously editing and reconstructing our product to make it more effective. We now have 7 versions. The culmination of our testing is an aluminum frame that is customizable to any dimensions, is structurally sound, and provides a perfect covering for our Repel-Ant. We eagerly await the World Final, but couldn't they make it just 2 weeks later?
-Aeshon We had to make a fog harvester which converts fog/mist to water through the process of condensation. We used a fine nylon or metal mesh that collects the condensation water which ends up in a tube from which the bees can drink. Our first models had 4 pieces. To reduce costs, we bent a single PVC pipe for a one-part solution. The circular PVC pipes do not stand; so we use square PVC pipes instead.
We are also investigating a hydrophilic mesh to attract as much water as possible and a hydrophobic interior to make the water into beads (as opposed to sheets) so it will be easier for bees to drink. We plan to coat the interior of the PVC pipe with bee's wax. -Ajay We had to decide on what substance we were going to use as a repellant. It had to be harmful to ants, harmless to bees, commonly available, cheap and preferably organic. It should also be easy to apply to our double-sided tape. We experimented with turmeric, paprika, boric acid, chili powder, lemon oil, black pepper, red pepper, and cinnamon. We determined that turmeric and lemon oil were the most effective in keeping ants away. -Ajay Our solution for the frame evolved many times. We first started with thin irrigation tubes to form a moat around the hive, but decided we needed something more durable. Instead, we chose thicker plastic tubes. Although this was more durable than the irrigation tubes, it was not rigid enough. We transitioned to flat wood slats with grooves that could have a wick coated with our ant Repel-Ant. However, that had no protection from rain; we used vertical slats. However, wood decays over time and there was no protection from wind. To overcome wood decay, we built metal frames with an overhanging lip. We used double-sided tape because a wick could blow away. This offered protection from the elements, prevention from decay, and a strong frame. The main problems were high labor costs and it was not rigid. Also, this could not be shipped easily. Our current model uses plastic brackets to make the corners rigid. It can be cut to different sizes and dismantled for shipping.
-Ajay Recently, we got the email to tell us if we would be going to the finals in Washington, D.C. We read it closely, and we were SELECTED! We are really excited, and can't wait to see what other people have made from all over the world! It will be really exciting and fun to see what innovations other people have had. To know if we won, check by a little sooner, like about mid-June. Thanks for tuning in!
-Mihir On March 4th we took SafeHive to the Northern California Innovation Expo in the Innovation hangar in San Francisco. We arrived at about 8:00 in the morning and set up. There were about twenty teams there, and all had amazing inventions that helped various animals from horseshoe crabs to bees. All the inventions were unique, and it was amazing to see how we were all helping animals so much. Whether it was coming up with a better way to repel wasps or saving dogs from dying in hot cars, everyone had put in the effort to help our animal allies. We browsed the booths, asked questions, and then headed to the presentation room to show our solution to the judges. The judges were really nice and loved our idea, and they asked questions that made us think about our product. Then we had a blast getting to know each other while playing foosball. This competition provided the perfect opportunity for team bonding, and we took it. Then, after presenting to more people at our booth, everyone at the competition gathered for the awards ceremony. The judges congratulated all the teams by forming a high-five line, and then the emcee announced the teams that would qualify to the next round. Our name was called! We were elated that we had made it to the next round of the competition.
The next day, we arrived to find only ten teams left in the competition. These were really the best of the projects, and we spent some time looking at the project boards of the teams. Then we were called early to our presentation room at about 10:30 in the morning, where we met two more judges. These judges were also very kind and they seemed impressed about our project. When we left, we headed to the theater so we could present to the other teams. The audience seemed to really like our idea, and they asked plenty of intriguing questions. Then we headed back to our booth and presented to passerby. We again went out for lunch and bonded over pizza, ice cream, and foosball. We came back in time for the booth judging, where the judges would actually come to our booth. We were pleased to see that one of these judges had judged us in the first round of the Expo, so he already knew our project well. This helped us present our project in more detail. We thought that we had made a good impression on the judges, and we later found that to be true. At the awards ceremony at the end of the day, we sat down to hear who would qualify to the next round. The judges formed a high five line, and then the emcee called out the alternates who would take the place of an inconvenienced nominee. The alternates came and went, and then the first nominee was called. It wasn't us. Then the second nominee was called. It was US!! We ran through the high five line with big smiles and accepted our certificate. Later we talked to the judges, and they said that our project absolutely deserved it. Now we have to fill out an application in order to be selected for the next level, which is due my March 29. Stay tuned! -Aeshon It has been a few days since we have given any report on our progress. But for now, we have made progress with making 2 more versions of the SafeHive in just a single day! One is made out of metal strips, the other out of faux wood. We are currently working on a different version of the metal strip SafeHive. We have also decided to use turmeric,cinnamon powder,and boric acid as our main RepelAnts because they work the best. To apply the RepelAnts, we will use double sided tape to stick it on to the metal beams. As for the water, since we found out the fog harvester can't be close to the hive, we will put it several feet away. Stay tuned for more information!;)
-Mihir |
AuthorWe are a group of middle school students on a mission to save bee lives. Categories |