A smart cap system includes a cap adapted to fit on a concrete test cylinder, the cap including one or more internal surfaces, and one or more sensors disposed in or on the one or more internal surfaces of the cap, the one or more sensors being adapted to obtain a measurement of a characteristic of a concrete mixture disposed in the test cylinder. The cap may be adapted to fit on one of a 4×8-inch cylinder and a 6×12-inch cylinder. The one or more sensors may include one of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a chronometer, a heat flow sensor, a motion sensor, a pH sensor, a location detector, a GPS sensor, an accelerometer, a triangulation sensor, a thermoelectric heat flow sensor, a salinity sensor, a macro fiber composite (MFC) sensor, and a capillary sensor.