Thingsartifacts

Thingsartifacts refers to a specialized digital repository and concept that catalogs and preserves artifacts related to the Internet of Things (IoT). The repository compiles a variety of physical and virtual objects, including early prototype devices, firmware images, sensor data records, and software libraries that have contributed to the development of IoT technology. It aims to provide researchers, historians, and technologists with a curated archive of tangible and intangible elements that illustrate the evolution and impact of connectivity across everyday life.

The initiative was launched in 2018 by a consortium of universities and industry partners seeking to address the scarcity of documented historical evidence about IoT hardware and software. Contributors submit artifacts through a standardized submission process that includes metadata describing the device’s specifications, manufacturing context, and usage scenario. Once approved, the artifacts are digitized wherever possible and listed on an open-access web platform that permits browsing, searching, and downloading of related material.

Thingsartifacts supports a variety of research domains, from computer science to material culture studies. It provides case studies that showcase how early sensor nodes influenced modern industrial automation, how firmware updates shape device security over time, and how user interfaces for connected appliances have migrated from command-line to conversational agents. The site also offers tools for generating citation information and for integrating artifact metadata with broader digital libraries.

The project’s long-term goal is to preserve the industrial heritage of IoT and enable comparative studies across generations of connected devices. By publicly documenting these artifacts, thingsartifacts helps guard against loss of knowledge, supports transparency in design, and fosters an understanding of how everyday objects have been transformed by sensor networks.