HatchMore: A Portable Egg Incubator with Multi-Egg Candling and Bluetooth-Enabled Monitoring for Enhanced Hatchability

Efficient artificial incubation is crucial for optimizing hatchability and reducing embryonic mortality. Although existing incubators provide temperature and humidity control, many lack advanced fertility assessment and real-time monitoring, vital for minimizing manual intervention and maintaining stable incubation conditions. This study presents HatchMore, a smart incubator integrating automated temperature and humidity control, real-time monitoring, and a multi-egg candling system, complemented by a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)-based mobile application for remote monitoring. The system maintained optimal incubation conditions (37.49°C, 54.41% RH (relative humidity) during setting; 36.71°C, 63.06% RH during hatching), resulting in a hatchability rate of 91.30% for the first incubating batch and a 94.44% for the second trial. The multi-egg candling system achieved an average of 93.7% accuracy considering 2 sets of trials, streamlining fertility detection and minimizing embryo handling risks. These findings demonstrate the reliability of HatchMore in enhancing incubation success while reducing labor-intensive processes. By integrating automation and data-driven decision-making, this research contributes to advancing precision poultry farming, offering a scalable solution to improve hatch rates and overall incubation efficiency.