"APIKUBOT" – research and development aimed at creating solutions to increase efficiency and automate work in commercial plant pollination
Project title
"APIKUBOT" – research and development aimed at creating solutions to increase efficiency and automate work in commercial plant pollination
Name of Beneficiary/Beneficiaries
Osmia Future Sp. z o. o.
Name of programme
Smart Growth Operational Programme
Competition
BRIdge Alfa
Project value
PLN 1,200,000.00
Funding value
PLN 960,000.00
Project delivery period
from 15 July 2021 to 30 April 2023
Meet our team
Przemysław Kapka – CEO, CO-founder
product development, sales
Education: Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW) – Horticulture and Public Administration
10 years of experience in company management
Secured nearly 2.1 million PLN for company growth
15 years of experience in red mason bee breeding
13 years of experience in public administration in the field of environmental protection
Damian Kapka – COO, Co-founder
finance, application development
23 years of experience in fruit culture
15 years of experience in red mason bee breeding
Education: Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW) – Economics
Training in the field of programming
Monika Kapka – Marketing Specialist
marketing, administration
Education: Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw – Environmental Protection
Osmia Future is a family-run company that has been operating on the market since 2020. It has a large base of satisfied customers who can enjoy the most professional pollination system for orchard crops in the world. We have created an innovative hive for solitary bee breeding, a mobile application for managing pollination, and a device for servicing hives after the season.
Privately, we own our own orchard farms and have been breeding red mason bees since 2008. During this time, we have become very familiar with these bees and are promoting them as remarkable insects. Our business is not just a job, it is our passion and mission. We care deeply about bees, the environment, our business partners, and the satisfaction of our customers. In our daily activities, we pay special attention to pollinator protection. Bees are dying for various reasons, and in some places, there are too few of them to ensure abundant crop yields.
What problem does our project solve?
Osmia 4.0 is a comprehensive solution related to the pollination of orchard crops. Supporting natural pollination of crops not only brings measurable benefits to the grower (increased yield and quality by 10 to 30%) but also benefits the environment. Farmers who introduce bees to their plantations not only pay more attention to the welfare of bees in their farms but also ensure that other people carry out plant protection measures at the appropriate times.
Osmia 4.0 is a comprehensive solution related to the pollination of orchard crops.
Supporting natural pollination of crops not only brings measurable benefits to the grower (increased yield and quality by 10 to 30%) but also benefits the environment. Farmers who introduce bees to their plantations not only pay more attention to the welfare of bees in their farms but also ensure that other people carry out plant protection measures at the appropriate times.
Osmia 4.0 is a combination of nature and modern technologies that together provide measurable results in optimising the pollination of crops.
The project received an award at the Polish Product of the Future competition.
An innovative solution made from modular components. Thanks to its design, it provides optimal temperature and humidity conditions for the nurturing of a new generation of bees.
A characteristic feature of our hive is the varied size of brood holes. This helps bees find individual holes. There is also an option to use a shield that reflects excess sunlight and can be painted in various colours, increasing the bees' working speed.
The OsmiaBox hive won the main prize at the 2023 International Fruit and Vegetable Farming Expo.
An invaluable tool for planning pollination. It precisely tells you the quantity and spacing of bees to place on a given plot. It is extremely important to ensure that there is an adequate number of bees, which are essential for proper pollination. The app, receiving data from the service device, learns and adjusts the number of bees according to individual needs and specific climatic conditions.
After the season, the new generation of bees should be removed from the hive, undergo selection, disinfection, and be packed in boxes. The system should also be cleaned, disinfected, the membrane replaced, and disassembled for use in the next season.
All these activities are performed automatically by a specially designed device. Thanks to the automation of the most labour-intensive processes in solitary bee breeding, pollination becomes as easy as using bumblebees, but much cheaper.
The 100% mechanical post-season maintenance of the OsmiaBox hives makes it possible to download pollination data for the season. The device enables further optimisation of pollination by selecting bee cocoons based on gender. It is the female red mason bees that are the main pollinators, so it is important to know how much of them reach the orchard.
Who will benefit from the project's results?
The solution's target audience is the agro-industry (fruit growers). By introducing pollinators to their plantations, they can increase yields by 10 to 30% and improve fruit quality. Thanks to the automation of pollination consulting via the mobile app, orchardists can precisely determine their hive requirements, regardless of plot shape, size, species grown, number of trees/shrubs per hectare, or harvest methods (mechanical, manual). Our company is acquiring business partners in European markets to rapidly internationalise the product and make it easier to reach the target customer. In the coming years, the company plans to enter at least 12 European markets and expand into the U.S. market.
What was the biggest challenge for us in implementing the project?
During the project's implementation, many unforeseen situations arose due to the variability of weather conditions and working with living organisms. These are aspects that are difficult to predict and often beyond the possibility of forecasting over a long period.