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Preventive solutions for Sensitive Materials of Cultural Heritage

Project description

Smart tools for safe sensitive historical artefacts

Europe is home to a large number of historical artefacts, collections and buildings. Small and medium-sized museums and galleries have the task of ensuring the best possible preservation conditions – no matter the material of the historical artefact (wood, paper, fabrics, etc.) or the environmental conditions. To support preventive conservation, the EU-funded SensMat project will develop and implement low-cost (approximately EUR 20-30 for the basic platform), eco-innovative and user-friendly sensors, models and decision-making tools. It will also develop a set of recommendations and cultural heritage guidelines to enable prediction and prevention of degradation of artefacts as a function of environmental conditions.

Objective

Preventive conservation (PC) has emerged as an important approach for the long-term preservation of sensitive cultural heritage (CH), notably for mobile artefacts, those displayed or stored in harsh environments and for small and medium-sized museums. SensMat aims to develop and implement effective, low cost (<20 – 30€ for basic platform), eco-innovative and user-friendly sensors, models and decision-making tools, as well as recommendations and guidelines to enable prediction and prevention of degradation of artefacts as a function of environmental conditions. SensMat is user-driven (inclusion of 19 museums in the project plus survey of 100 more), and the consortium has solid existing results and a strong capacity to mature the sensors, models and decision-making solutions to TRL 7 during the project. Based on multiscale modelling, data management systems, collaborative platforms and sensor communication networks (IoT), museums stakeholders will be informed in real-time of possible dangers to their artefacts, thus reducing degradation risks and costly conservation treatment. Demonstration of the platform in 10 representative case studies in museums, historical buildings, storage sites and workshops will prepare rapid uptake after the project. Knowledge transfer, training, and recommendations of best practices will facilitate standardization, strategy implementation, new policy definition, and wide-scale adoption of the new solution by cultural heritage sites immediately after the project.

Call for proposal

H2020-NMBP-ST-IND-2018-2020

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Sub call

H2020-NMBP-ST-IND-2018

Coordinator

COMMISSARIAT A L ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES
Net EU contribution
€ 690 473,84
Address
RUE LEBLANC 25
75015 PARIS 15
France

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Region
Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris
Activity type
Research Organisations
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Total cost
€ 691 972,61

Participants (22)