BeeHive: A flexible open electronics platform for controlling research equipment and teaching electronics principles

Ihor Sobianin; Mikkel Roald-Arbøl; Solomon Gitau Ngotho; Lydia Ellison; Sina Dominiak; Shahd Al Balushi; Alejandra Carriero; Marcus Burnell Spector; Eglantine Vignal; Carla Lemos Perinetti; Cansu Demirbatir; Moira Eley; Maria Cozan; Estelle Moubarak; Fillip Janiak; George Kemenes; Leon Lagnado; Sylvia Schroeder; Tomas Nowotny; Sarah King; Tom Baden; Miguel Maravall; André Maia Chagas

doi:10.1590/SciELOPreprints.15694

article.authors6a15ec21a0f9a

Ihor Sobianin University of Southampton, faculty of medicine, school of enterprise and innovation, Southampton, UK https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5444-602X
- Conceptualization
- Methodology
- Software
- Validation
- Writing – Original Draft Preparation
- Writing – Review & Editing
- Formal Analysis
Mikkel Roald-Arbøl BIOB, Section 2, Animal Diversity, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9998-0058
- Methodology
- Investigation
- Formal Analysis
- Writing – Original Draft Preparation
- Validation
- Visualization
- Data Curation
Solomon Gitau Ngotho The Science and Technology Facilities Council, UK https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2206-8121
- Methodology
- Software
- Validation
- Data Curation
Lydia Ellison Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8198-9398
- Methodology
- Validation
- Visualization
- Data Curation
- Writing – Original Draft Preparation
Sina Dominiak Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6344-5683
- Formal Analysis
- Data Curation
- Methodology
- Writing – Original Draft Preparation
Shahd Al Balushi Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5351-9707
- Methodology
- Data Curation
- Writing – Original Draft Preparation
- Visualization
Alejandra Carriero Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0897-861X
- Data Curation
- Methodology
- Validation
- Writing – Original Draft Preparation
Marcus Burnell Spector Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8905-3034
- Methodology
- Software
- Validation
- Writing – Original Draft Preparation
- Data Curation
Eglantine Vignal Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, SRMA , Gif-sur-Yvette, France https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6080-1612
- Investigation
- Methodology
- Visualization
Carla Lemos Perinetti University of Amsterdam https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9636-0666
- Methodology
- Data Curation
- Software
Cansu Demirbatir Department of Pharmacology, Near East University, Nicosia, Turkey
- Investigation
- Supervision
Moira Eley School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0998-9051
- Methodology
- Supervision
- Writing – Review & Editing
Maria Cozan Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0095-005X
- Investigation
- Writing – Original Draft Preparation
Estelle Moubarak Marine Biological Section, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitatesparken 4, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4561-989X
- Supervision
- Validation
- Investigation
Fillip Janiak University of Sussex https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9295-2740
- Supervision
- Methodology
George Kemenes Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2004-8725
- Supervision
- Resources
Leon Lagnado Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1098-8839
- Supervision
- Funding Acquisition
Sylvia Schroeder Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9938-3931
- Writing – Original Draft Preparation
- Funding Acquisition
- Supervision
Tomas Nowotny Sussex Neuroscience, School of Engineering and Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4451-915X
- Funding Acquisition
- Supervision
- Writing – Original Draft Preparation
Sarah King Sussex Neuroscience, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7412-9558
- Funding Acquisition
- Supervision
- Writing – Original Draft Preparation
Tom Baden Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2808-4210
- Funding Acquisition
- Supervision
- Writing – Original Draft Preparation
Miguel Maravall Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8869-7206
- Supervision
- Funding Acquisition
- Formal Analysis
- Writing – Original Draft Preparation
André Maia Chagas Espaço Manacás, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas, Campinas Brazil; Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK; TReND in Africa, Brighton UK; BioRTC, Yobe State University, Damaturu Nigeria; Open Neuroscience, Campinas, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2609-3017
- Conceptualization
- Formal Analysis
- Funding Acquisition
- Methodology
- Project Administration
- Software
- Supervision
- Visualization
- Writing – Original Draft Preparation
- Data Curation
- Validation
- Resources

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/SciELOPreprints.15694

Keywords:

open hardware, neuroscience, open science, behaviour, open source

Resumen

In this manuscript we present BeeHive, a standardized, open-source hardware electronics ecosystem designed to address challenges faced by researchers when developing custom scientific equipment. Beehive is flexible and interoperable, since it is organised around minimal design rules. It consists of a microcontroller-based mainboard and function-specific Daughter Boards (DBs) for controlling actuators or reading sensors, allowing researchers to rapidly combine and repurpose components to build complex, specialized systems. This modular approach significantly reduces the time and cost associated with instrumentation development, promoting effective collaboration through shared, standardized solutions. The platform's versatility is demonstrated across several neuroscience applications, including a reward delivery system for head-fixed mice, a modular mouse maze, and an odour stimulator, alongside a dedicated Training DB and curriculum designed to teach electronics and MicroPython programming in an integrated, project-based manner. By embracing open-source principles for hardware and software, BeeHive lowers the barrier to entry for researchers in developing their own setups, fostering greater accessibility, reproducibility, and innovation. The system is also discipline agnostic, and could be used to create tools in different fields.