Quantum sensing for sustainable infrastructure: Performance evaluation, IoT integration, and future directions

Quantum sensing (QS) exploits non-classical physical phenomena for advanced measurement, with growing relevance to infrastructure monitoring. Despite laboratory-level progress, real-world deployment remains uneven, shaped by integration complexity, digital connectivity, and technological maturity. This article presents a systematic review of QS technologies focused on deployability within infrastructure monitoring architectures. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, searches were conducted across six bibliographic databases, covering the 2017–2025 period. An initial dataset of 3,636 records was retrieved and reduced through a multi-stage screening pipeline which progressively narrowed the corpus to a final set of 80 peer-reviewed publications retained for detailed analysis. Studies were classified by QS modality, readout architecture, physical platform, and application domain encompassing geophysical and subsurface monitoring, civil and structural health monitoring, transport systems, and urban and environmental sensing. A cross-modality performance comparison was conducted using reported quantitative metrics including sensitivity, resolution, and bandwidth to benchmark quantum sensor technologies against classical sensing baselines, contextualizing their deployment feasibility. Readiness for real-world deployment was assessed using an adapted quantum technology readiness level framework, emphasizing system-level integration, operational sustainability, and compatibility with internet of things enabled and digitally connected monitoring infrastructures. Results reveal heterogeneous maturity trajectories across quantum sensor subtypes and highlight the critical roles of hybrid quantum–classical architectures, edge processing, and secure data integration for scalable deployment. This review positions QS as an enabling component within digitally integrated monitoring systems and provides a realistic perspective on the conditions under which quantum sensor technologies can contribute effectively to future infrastructure monitoring applications.