Utilization of IoT Technology at a Historical Site

Abstract

Recently, many IoT sensors are available at low cost. It is possible to acquire various data by combining appropriate sensors according to the items we want to measure and using control devices equipped data recording device such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi. On the other hand, there are high-precision measuring instruments for indoor experiments in the laboratory. By combining these with IoT technology, it is possible to improve the accuracy of field observation. Here, we introduce examples of field observation at a historical site that have continued since 2018 by performing such a combination. The historical site located in Saitama Prefecture are cave tombs dug in soft tuffaceous rock. On the surface of the slope facing southwest, many open fractures are formed by the intrusion of tree roots, then creates a rock block separated by fractures. There is a risk of rockfall. Therefore, the movement of the rock block is decided to monitor by real-time monitoring of the change in the fracture aperture. The purpose of the observation is to confirm whether the dangerous situation is getting worse. In this report, we introduce the know-how on the measurement technique leading to data acquisition and the knowledge obtained from the acquired data by real-time monitoring.