NOS is developing a 5G solution to help combat declining bee populations

NOS is developing and testing an innovative solution, based on 5G technology and artificial intelligence, to monitor and evaluate the health of beehives, through sound. Originating at NOS Innovation, the “AI-belha” initiative is a direct response to the alarming decline in pollinator numbers in Portugal – and is now moving towards the testing phase in a real environment, with the support of national beekeepers.

“AI-belha” is an evolution of the “Entusiasmómetro” tool, launched at NOS Alive, which measures the enthusiasm and emotion of audiences at shows, via the 5G network. A new development of the same pioneering audio analytics technology, powered by artificial intelligence, will now be used to detect the presence of queen bees and assess the health and behavior of beehives, a process vital to the reproduction of bees, key pollinators of the ecosystem. .

Beekeepers simply have to bring their 5G smartphone closer to the hive and collect the sound emanating from the bees, just as if it were a phone call. The collected audio is sent, in real time, to a server in the cloud, where different types of noise are analyzed using artificial intelligence. The result will be to identify the presence or absence of the queen bee through the sound made by the bees, in addition to detecting other sound patterns that may indicate negative signs of the health of the hive.

João Ferreira, Director of NOS Innovation, highlighted: “It is part of NOS's commitment to combine innovation and technology to respond to the challenges and needs of people and the planet. Within the framework of our innovation system, we are committed to continuing our investment in R&D, but we are also looking for new applications that can make a difference in the lives of People and help in vital areas such as the sustainability of our planet. In this case, this is a vital issue for human survival, considering that bees are essential for agriculture and life on this planet, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate around the world.

The project is open to receive beekeepers who wish to participate in the pilot program. Interested parties can contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need to activate Java script to watch it!.