Hive Observation System: hardware designs and tracking software

Hive Observation System - hardware designs and tracking software Supplementary hardware and software for: Ulrich, J., Stefanec, M., Rouček, T., Fedotoff, L. A., Pascher, H., Rozsypálek, Z., Schmickl, T. and Krajník, T. (2026). An open-hardware high-precision hive for long-term honeybee observation and research. Biology Open, bio062523. https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.062523 This repository contains the mechanical design files for an aluminium-profile two-frame honeybee observation hive (Zander comb format) and the ROS-basedsoftware used to continuously track an individual honeybee (the queen) inside it. How to cite If you use these materials, please cite both the deposit and the article. - Article: https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.062523 Contents ```├── hardware/│ 2026_BIO_hive_supplementary.pdf ← component lists (Supplementary Tables S1–S5) and assembly schema and instructions (Supplementary Fig. S1)│ ├── cad-source/ ← editable source models (STEP / native parametric)└── software/ └── tracking-software-source-code/ ← ROS workspace ├── rr_os_setup/ └── ros_packages/ ├── rr_datacollection/ ← recording, storage and upload management ├── rr_whycode/ ← WhyCode/WhyComb fiducial marker tracking ├── rr_camera/ ← camera acquisition node ├── rr_cropper/ ← cropping of the queen's immediate vicinity ├── rr_msgs/ ← custom message definitions └── rr_power_plug/ ← power-cycling / failure recovery``` Hardware The hive is built from standard extruded aluminium profiles and 3D-printed parts. External main-frame dimensions are 545 × 620 mm (excluding the stand). The designis a drop-in replacement for a traditional two-frame wooden observation hive and is adaptable to other comb formats (e.g. Langstroth) by changing profile cut lengthsonly. Editable CAD source is provided in `hardware/cad-source/` so the design can be modified, not only reprinted.See the article's Materials and Methods for the full mechanical description. Software ROS-based acquisition, tracking, storage and monitoring pipeline. One processing instance runs per camera (one camera per comb side; four cameras for the two-framehive), and a collector node selects the active pipeline and writes a timestamped `rosbag`.