SCIENTIFIC TECHNOLOGY: RELEVANCE AND ROLE OF ‘INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT)' IN MUSEUM (original) (raw)

We all are well versed with the use and importance of Internet which has eased our life in many ways as it covers a wide spectrum of applications and services. Conceptually, in a layman’s language we understand Internet as a network of networks where each computer, laptops, tablets and mobile devices are connected globally. On the same grounds we have a new emerging technology called “Internet of Things” (IoT), which will sooner or later capture the global workability. The term “Things”, in the phrase “Internet of Things”, can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low -- or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an IP address and provided with the ability to transfer data over a network. Looking on to the current scenario of the Museums, especially in India where there is always a shortage of specifically educated museum professionals, IoT shall be a boon. It can be the security system of Museum which can detect even a minor discrepancy or a system which can maintain and regulate the temperature, humidity and illumination within a museum or even controlling conservation alerts & procedures within a showcase itself depending upon the condition of the artefacts. It can even tell us the changing locations of an artefact within a museum at the same time the data about its location could be automatically upgraded in the museum database management system. There are many more suggested areas of usage for IoT in Museums depending upon the feasibility factors. It will largely bring perfection in the task and will no longer be dependent on the human intervention and errors. It will also cut down the running cost of a museum thereby contributing in revenue. IoT has evolved from the convergence of wireless technologies, micro - electromechanical systems (MEMS), micro-services and the Internet. The convergence has helped tear down the walls between Operational Technologies (OT) and Information Technology (IT) thus making it most suitable to be used even with our day-to-day appliances. The author is currently doing research on this topic from Centre for Museology & Conservation, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. Link: https://www.uniraj.ac.in/phd-data/Ph.D-Data/MUSEOLOGY%20&%20%20CONSERVATION.pdf