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Comment by kortex | Hacker News Reader

Not a beek, but I'm close friends with some, and might actually take the plunge this year.

This looks like a classic case of "automating the wrong way" and thinking in terms of agents instead of tools (force multipliers).

What beekeepers really benefit from are tools that let them do more work with less effort. Hive lifters are a perfect example [1]. The most popular design has a couple of mechanical flaws that can lead to buckling, and the hand winch is kind of a pain to use with really heavy supers. That's the real kind of innovation the field would benefit from.

Another is logistics. Schlepping around hive boxes, sugar water, tools, supplies, through loose farm mud, is a real hassle. Tractors are expensive and not really maneuverable. A "farm tug" would be crazy useful - something like an electric wheelbarrow (which exists) but a more generic/modular form factor.

1 - https://beehivelifters.com/product/beehive-lifter-manual-2-w...

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I am a beek, just hobby, and totally agree here.

It's one of the reasons I went full "topbarhive": no more lifting, dragging wooden boxes around and such. Less checking-up too, so overall much less work.

I'd like to add that bees, at least mine, have a thing against combustion engines. I think it's the vibration/shockwaves combined with the smoke.

So lawnmowers, bushwhackers, farm-tugs, chainsaws and such all need to be battery powered. Which is possible in 2022, but expensive. I've had to learn how to use an old-school scythe to keep my stand a bit nettle/grass free over the summer. Motor-mowing in my bee-suite, while being attacked by angree bees is not fun.

I'm an electro-mechanical engineer unfamiliar with small farms. How would you change this type of design to be more modular or adaptable?

https://www.overlandcarts.com/

Not who you asked, but as someone interested in small/hobby farm equipment to enable a couple people to do more work, more efficiently: The actual products seem nice and they have a variety of things that would be useful to us. I’d like to be able to buy a common flatbed lifting/dumping platform at about half those prices and be able to separately purchase and easily swap out the various wheelbarrow and garden/utility wagon bases. Ability to upgrade/replace motor and batteries. Ability to use the platform for additional powered implements like spreaders, seed drills, flail mower, auger, etc I’d like to be able to operate it in either a push-in-front (wheelbarrow) or pull-behind (wagon) fashion and for the drive and steering controls to work well in both cases. Stretch goals: a low speed follow-me mode with basic obstacle detection/avoidance. A go-to-programmed-location-and-come-back-wherever-here-is mode, optionally dumping or waiting for interaction at the other end.

The powered cart design? I'm not sure. I suppose there are some niche jobs that you could target with that. I think most farms set up to use a tractor with a front end loader or bobcat (which takes care of shoveling too), or gator/truck/atv for just hauling. I can see the powered cart being useful in small barns or niche chores, but only marginally (or for disabilities).

In general, I think low cost, low maintenance, and the ability to repair it yourself (lots of COTS parts) are the main benefits.

Interchangeable buckets/attachments would be good. What I mean is that I see a lot of outdoor or primary sector uses in the existing carts. Could be good to have the bucket of the wheelbarrow be interchangeable for the secondary or value-add steps. Many small farms need to vertically integrate to survive. So maybe have it focused on processing, like hauling, warming, and bottling (honey gate) that 100 gallon container this honey device uses. Or maybe for hauling mushroom bags from sterilization, to inoculation, to fruiting rooms.

Also, I assume many of the people using a powered wheelbarrow type device would find a loading aide/mechanism highly beneficial. Stuff like shoveling takes a long time and can be hard on the back.

What about this[0] approach ?

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ItlOFLTUAs

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