FEATURE
Innovation Camp
AKER
A modular growing system for producing food in cities
B
ased in Denver, Colorado, Aaron
Mararuk and Tristan Copley Smith are
co-founders of AKER. AKER evolved
from a previous citizen science project
the duo launched in 2014, called Open
Source Beehives. Both Aaron and Tristan
felt that digital fabrication could be used to create
innovative, snap-fit solutions for the urban farming
movement, and joined POC21 to make that a reality.
The purpose of AKER is to provide people in urban
areas with the opportunity to grow their food while
creating habitats for wildlife, even in small spaces like
balconies and rooftops. Envisioning a city where
lifeless concrete structures are transformed into living
ecosystems, the current range of kits includes a
chicken coop, vermicomposter, three plant beds, and
two sorts of beehives.DIGITAL FABRICATORS BECOME
URBAN FARMERS
Aaron and Tristan’s first project, Open Source Beehives,
is a network of citizen scientists that use sensor-
enhanced beehives to help identify the causes of
declining bee populations throughout the world. They
believe that open source collaboration and open data are
vital tools for directly addressing such a pressing issue.
By monitoring hive audio signals, the group is
gathering data that enables them to correlate the sound
of the bees with hive state and hive health. For example,
bee colonies that are preparing to swarm will emit an
identifiable audio signature. Using Open Source
Beehives hardware, it’s possible to monitor the activity
of multiple hives remotely.
The primary goal of Open Source Beehives is to
identify the unique sounds of hives that are in a
near-collapsed state so that researchers can correlate
those signals with likely causes. They also aim to
provide users with an advanced warning if their bees are
in danger, enabling bee-keepers to intervene quickly,
hopefully saving the colony.
During POC21, Aaron and Tristan had produced six
new open source designs for urban agriculture products.
These new plans included a modular, multi-level, raised
planter bed, a raised bed, a top bar beehive, a wall-
mounted planter, a two-hen chicken coop, and a worm
composting bin. According to Tristan, all of these items
can be used to build “a complete backyard farm.” Just
like Open Source Beehives, the AKER kits can be
assembled without the need for power tools or even
screws or glue and can be easily flat-packed for storage
or transportation.
Each kit is routed using high-end CNC machinery from
plywood that meets Carb II standards for “no addedBelow
Flatpacked kits are
easy to manufacture
and transport