Monitoring of historical/heritage sites with internet of things

Abstract

Historical or heritage sites including buildings, monuments and other structures are considered an important asset for any country or society. They not only reflect the cultural past but also have strategic and economic significance to both the country and the people living in that area. UNESCO has declared the heritage sites belong to the entire world irrespective of where are actually located. Hence governments and other organizations make special efforts to preserve them. One of the important pre-requisites for effective conservation is the proactive monitoring of them. An effective monitoring scheme needs to monitor these sites around the clock and alert the responsible parties when immediate attention is required. This paper presents a model for using Internet of Things for effective monitoring of heritage sites and artifacts along with a prototype system that has been developed for this purpose.