Why monitoring matters on historic ships

Indoor air quality sensors are increasingly used in museums, archives, and heritage sites to safeguard artifacts. Pollutants like CO₂, particulate matter (PM), VOCs, along with temperature and humidity fluctuations, all threaten collections by triggering irreversible damage—such as metal corrosion, wood warping, or mold growth.

In heritage buildings and vessels, maintaining stable conditions is critical: relative humidity swings and poor air quality degrade organic and metallic materials, while corrosion and mold damage can spread silently behind closed panels.

Two gateways, full-ship coverage

Protecting a historic ship can be done, but it has its challenges. Old ships feature watertight compartments—hardly ideal construction for wireless sensors, especially in a steel hull. For one particular vessel that required monitoring in both the bow and stern sections, two AKKR8 gateways were deployed. One gateway in the bow, one in the stern—wirelessly scan for precision air quality sensors that measure PM, CO₂, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), temperature, and humidity. The readings are sent via cellular connection to the cloud, offering holistic monitoring across the ship’s watertight compartments. The data is encrypted to maintain integrity, and all the sensor readings are displayed for the customer, providing real-time insights, historical data, and alarms if values move outside defined thresholds.

This setup ensures control over the environment, yet avoids invasive cabling—ideal for preserving the vessel’s authenticity.

Detecting threats in real time

As with museums and archives, real-time sensing on this ship means environmental risks can be identified before they cause damage. Whether it’s rising humidity in a sealed compartment or elevated CO₂ levels, alerts allow staff to take prompt action.

Historical studies highlight that maintaining temperature within ±2 °C and relative humidity around 50 % ±5 % is vital—especially on vessels where steel and wooden materials behave differently.

Proactive conservation in action

This system supports long-term preservation by:

• · Continuous data logging—supporting trend analysis and preventive maintenance
• · Automated alerts—immediately flagging deviations
• · Non-invasive deployment—respecting compartment integrity
• · Scalable architecture—allowing future expansion to docks or other exhibits

More than preservation

Monitoring extends beyond artifact longevity: it preserves heritage value and strengthens visitor and staff safety. Plus, early environmental control reduces restoration costs and helps maintain condition standards required by museums and insurance bodies.
Next port of call

The system remains fully operational, safeguarding the ship’s legacy. By combining HibouAir precision sensors and AKKR8 gateways, the project demonstrates how real-time air quality data can transform passive display into proactive preservation—keeping history alive on water.

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Unlock IoT´s potential with our new BLE-features

Central to our expanded IoT ecosystem is the AKKR8 gateway, an IoT solution that forms the backbone for countless applications. By adding support for additional wireless sensors in 2024—and with further advancements planned for 2025—the gateway is more versatile than ever. Among the new additions are industrial-grade sensors from ELA Innovation, designed to track assets, monitor storage environments, and ensure precise temperature control in critical processes.

These sensors not only enhance functionality but also maintain the hallmark AKKR8 value of effortless management, minimizing the need for continuous supervision.

The gateway now supports the following ELA Innovation sensors:

• Puck/Coin ID and SLIM ID: Beacons for proximity detection, allowing tracking of assets or individuals.
  The gateway identifies and logs beacon ID and timestamps, offering valuable insights.
• Coin/Puck Move: These sensors detect motion, count events, and enable detailed tracking of asset movements and unusual activity patterns.
• Coin/Puck T: Providing reliable temperature monitoring, these sensors serve diverse applications, from cold storage to sensitive manufacturing.

These devices join an existing suite of wireless sensors—water temperature probes, leak detectors, flush counters, and air quality monitors.
The result? A fully integrated IoT ecosystem capable of addressing complex requirements across industries.

Optimizing IoT Operations with BLE Modes

With recent upgrades, the AKKR8 operates in two distinct BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) modes:

1. Targeted Mode: Detects and monitors pre-configured devices.
2. Discovery Mode: Scans and logs all compatible BLE devices within range, including those from Aguardio, Hibou Air, and ELA Innovation.

This dual-mode capability introduces remarkable flexibility, making it easier for businesses to manage diverse sensor networks without requiring separate solutions or systems.

Flexible Solutions for Industrial IoT

Traditional IoT systems often lock users into narrowly defined solutions that measure one aspect of performance, limiting the overall utility of deployed systems. Expanding sensor support within the AKKR8 gateway avoids this limitation, enabling businesses to mix and match sensors to build multi-purpose systems. Such adaptability not only increases insights but also minimizes the costs and environmental impact of retrofitting or replacing infrastructure.

Unlock Multi-Sensor IoT Power

• Enhancing Asset Tracking and Environmental Monitoring in Manufacturing: Challenges for smaller manufacturers often include locating assets, maintaining air quality, and monitoring production-critical water pumps. With the AKKR8, combining indoor and outdoor sensors provides a comprehensive view, allowing managers to locate outdoor pallets, monitor indoor conditions, and reduce risks, such as frozen pipes in technical facilities.
• Home Elder Care Support: For elderly or ill individuals living alone, IoT sensors can provide peace of mind by tracking daily activities such as faucet use or bed movement.
  Insights on room temperature and water leaks help caregivers respond quickly to potential risks. Integrating BLE beacons adds granularity, tracking when caregivers arrive and leave.
• Smarter Property Heating: Older buildings often lack advanced monitoring systems for heating. Wireless sensors simplify retrofitting, offering data on supply and return water temperatures, potential leaks, and compliance with recommended water heating standards. Real-time data delivers actionable insights, preventing costly inefficiencies without disruptive installations.
• Improving Workplace Air Quality: Indoor air quality impacts productivity and employee satisfaction. IoT sensors from AKKR8 track air quality metrics, such as TVOCs (Total Volatile Organic Compounds), to detect irregularities. During a collaboration with Sankt Kors, sensors identified increased TVOC levels coinciding with the use of harsher cleaning products, enabling corrective action.

Why the AKKR8 Stands Out

The AKKR8 gateway stands at the forefront of sustainable IoT innovation by addressing pain points typical of conventional solutions:

• Avoiding vendor lock-in by supporting diverse, interoperable BLE sensors.
• Simplifying system upgrades and expansions, ensuring long-term flexibility.
• Promoting environmental responsibility with minimal hardware requirements.

By building future-ready IoT systems, businesses can reduce costs, increase operational efficiency, and enhance sustainability.

Whether you’re looking to improve workplace environments, boost production insights, or modernize property monitoring, the Swedish-developed AKKR8 gateway combines cutting-edge performance with scalability and reliability.
IoT innovation doesn’t have to be complex—unlock your business’s potential with Induo’s flexible and sustainable solutions.

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