A Florida community has deployed AI-powered robotic beehives as declining bee populations continue raising concerns about the future of the US food supply, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay.
The Angeline development in Land O’ Lakes recently became the first master-planned community to install Beewise’s automated BeeHome system, which uses robotics, sensors and artificial intelligence to monitor hive health and protect colonies from environmental threats.
The technology arrives as bee populations across the United States continue facing pressure from parasites, pesticides, disease and extreme weather conditions that experts say threaten agriculture nationwide.
“Bees pollinate roughly 75% of the crops we eat and about 80% of flowering plants around the word,” Beewise Managing Director Steve Peck said. “So, without those bees, our food supply is in jeopardy.”
The community relies on bees to pollinate a 2.5-acre farm that helps supply produce used throughout the development.
The BeeHome system uses internal cameras, sensors and robotic components to inspect hives and identify problems that traditionally require manual beekeeper oversight.
“The robotics know where it is in the frame or where it is in the hive at any point,” Peck said. “It can pick it up just like a beekeeper would, inspect it, and report that back to technicians around the world.”
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