An Internet of Things approach for Cultural Heritage enhancement

Abstract

The emergence of the Internet of Things has led to the creation of technological environments that
smartly manage various applications, such as those typically in a Smart City. These applications can
enhance the administration of various services by providing dynamic responses based on sensor data
to suggest, for instance, where to park, which public transportation to use, or which event to attend.
In this scenario, even the world of Cultural Heritage could benefit. This paper aims to introduce a
new approach, based on the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm, to enhance Cultural Heritage fruition.
One of the most significant challenges in this sector is classifying and predicting visitor behavior by
collecting their activities, preferences, and needs. The proposed approach aims to present an Internet
of Things framework geared toward data collection, which feeds a model capable of reproducing and
therefore predicting the dynamics associated with visitors’ interactions with cultural heritage, i.e.,
points of interest (POI), and with the available technologies. A prototype was developed and tested
in the Salerno downtown area for experimental purposes, obtaining promising results.