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CollectionCare · Project

Affordable IoT Sensors That Protect Museum Artefacts by Monitoring Conditions in Real Time

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collectioncare.eu

Imagine you run a small museum and every painting, sculpture, or textile is slowly degrading — but you can't afford the expensive monitoring systems the big museums use. CollectionCare built tiny, affordable wireless sensors that sit next to each artefact and continuously track temperature, humidity, and other conditions. The data goes to the cloud where smart software predicts how different materials will deteriorate and tells you exactly when to act. It's like giving every artefact its own personal health tracker, connected to an AI doctor that warns you before damage happens.

By the numbers
19
consortium partners across Europe
9
countries represented in the consortium
6
industry partners in the consortium
3
SMEs involved in development
25
total project deliverables completed
4
demonstration deliverables including validated sensor nodes
The business problem

What needed solving

Small and medium-sized museums cannot afford the expensive monitoring equipment and specialized staff needed to protect their collections from environmental degradation. Cultural artefacts deteriorate due to temperature, humidity, and other conditions during display, storage, handling, and transport — but most institutions only discover damage after it has already happened. There is no affordable way to continuously monitor individual artefacts and predict material degradation before it becomes irreversible.

The solution

What was built

The project built an IoT-based sensor system with wireless nodes that monitor the microclimate around individual artefacts in real time, validated for cloud data publishing. This is paired with multi-scale, multi-material degradation models and a cloud-based decision support system. Optimized sensor nodes were demonstrated under operational conditions at partner museums across Europe, with 25 deliverables completed in total.

Audience

Who needs this

Small and medium-sized museums that lack budget for professional conservation monitoringArt transport and logistics companies that need to prove safe handling conditionsInsurance companies covering cultural artefacts who want real-time risk dataPrivate collectors and galleries managing valuable collections without in-house conservation staffHeritage building managers responsible for climate control in archives and storage facilities
Business applications

Who can put this to work

Museum & Cultural Heritage Management
SME
Target: Small and medium-sized museums, galleries, and private collections

If you are a small museum struggling to protect your collection because professional environmental monitoring costs too much — this project developed an affordable IoT sensor system with cloud-based decision support that tracks conditions around each individual artefact during display, storage, handling, and transport. The system was demonstrated under operational conditions across museums in 9 countries with 19 consortium partners.

Art Logistics & Transport
any
Target: Art transport and storage companies handling cultural goods

If you are an art logistics company that needs to guarantee safe conditions during transport but lack continuous monitoring — this project developed optimized sensor nodes validated for real-time cloud data publishing that track artefact conditions at every stage. The system covers display, storage, handling, and transport scenarios, reducing the risk of damage claims and insurance disputes.

Building Management & Conservation Technology
mid-size
Target: Facility management and climate control companies serving heritage buildings

If you are a building management company responsible for climate control in heritage sites or archives — this project developed multi-scale degradation models for different materials combined with IoT microclimatology monitoring. With 6 industry partners in the consortium, the system was designed for real operational deployment, not just lab testing.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would a system like this cost compared to traditional museum monitoring?

The project's core objective was to create an 'affordable' and 'innovative' system specifically adapted to the resources of small museums and collections. While exact pricing is not published in the project data, the entire design targets institutions that cannot afford current expensive monitoring solutions or specialized personnel.

Can this scale to large collections or multiple museum sites?

The system was built on cloud computing and IoT architecture with LPWAN wireless communication, which inherently supports scaling across locations. It was tested with museum partners across 9 countries, including institutions in Spain, Belgium, Latvia, Greece, and Denmark.

What about intellectual property and licensing?

The consortium includes 6 industry partners and 3 SMEs alongside 6 universities. As an Innovation Action (IA) funded project, IP is typically shared among consortium members. Licensing arrangements would need to be discussed with the coordinator, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.

Does this comply with existing conservation standards?

Yes. The project explicitly states the system complies with current preventive conservation norms and recommendations. The consortium includes 7 established preventive conservation research groups and institutions.

How mature is the technology — is it ready to deploy?

Deliverables show advanced sensor nodes were validated for real-time cloud data publishing by month 19, and optimized sensor nodes were ready for demonstration under operational conditions by month 34. Demonstration protocols were completed across partner museums.

What materials and artefact types does it cover?

The system uses multi-scale and multi-material degradation models covering the heterogeneous material nature of cultural artefacts. Based on available project data, this includes analysis of how different materials interact and degrade under environmental stress over time.

Who built this and can they provide support?

The 19-partner consortium spans cloud computing (ATOS), IoT connectivity (SGF), wireless sensing (UPV), art transport (CBC, HvK), and collection management (PS). An advisory board includes experts from GCI, CCI, ICCROM, and ICOMOS — major international conservation institutions.

Consortium

Who built it

The CollectionCare consortium is well-balanced for bringing a product to market: 19 partners from 9 countries with a 32% industry ratio. The 6 industry partners bring commercial deployment capability, while 6 universities and 2 research organizations provide deep scientific expertise in preventive conservation. Three SMEs add agility. Key industrial players include ATOS (cloud/big data), SGF (IoT connectivity), CBC and HvK (art transport), and PS (collection management). The advisory board — featuring GCI, CCI, ICCROM, ICOMOS, and AXA ART — signals strong ties to both the global conservation community and the insurance sector, which is a natural buyer of risk-reduction technology.

How to reach the team

The coordinator is Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (Spain). SciTransfer can facilitate an introduction to the research team.

Order a report on this consortiumSee UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE VALENCIA profile →
Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how CollectionCare's affordable monitoring technology could protect your collection or strengthen your product line? SciTransfer connects businesses with EU research teams — contact us for a tailored briefing.

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