It all begins with a single idea
'Bees learn! Can we do something about it?'
Founded in 2001, Inscentinel quickly rose to fame as the first and only company to use restrained honey bees as sensors. Over the years, we have worked with the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence, global defence companies and university research groups to develop the technology.
The idea of bees being capable of learning is not new. Since the 1960s, researchers have been looking at the ability of bees to learn new odours. This research was mainly focussed on understanding the role of olfaction in bee behaviours such as how bee locate pollen and nectar sources. Researchers tried training the bees to a range of odours but none come to realising the potential in applications.
In the years follow our founding, governments began a series of programmes to tighten security at ports and airports in the fight against terrorism. It is generally accepted that no single technology will provide a solution effective against all threats. Significant investment that has gone into the development of electronic sensors and dog training programmes but there is still room for improvement. It is at this time, Inscentinel looked at bees to play a role.
Bees are fascinating creatures and are kept by many people as a hobby. It amazes people hear that as well as pollinating important food crops and producing honey, bees can be trusted to sniff out explosives, diagnose infectious diseases and much more. Our innovative technology and people's fascination with bees, has made Inscentinel a favourite in the media, we featured in many reports on television, and in magazines, newspapers and blog. See our news page some examples.
On this site you will find information about the basic science of bees and our technology. Please explore the site and send us an email if you have any questions or thoughts. We welcome collaborations to uncover the potential of bees.