Why you should use LoRa technology and LoRaWAN® for your next IoT use case
Learn the LoRaWAN fundamentals and applications
LoRa is a modulation that provides a significantly greater communication range with low bandwidths than other competing wireless data transmission technologies like cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth, or ZigBee. LoRaWAN is a communication protocol that takes advantage of the LoRa modulation to transmit small data packets (like sensor data) over long distances. With these features, LoRaWAN is great for use in industrial deployments.
Benefits of LoRaWAN for your deployments:
Long range: LoRaWAN provides for long range communication between end devices and a gateway up to 5 kilometers in urban areas, and up to 15 kilometers or more in rural areas.
Supports 10+ years battery life: LoRaWAN enables sending data information overn the long range and by using low power. This allows LoRaWAN devices to run on batteries for up to 10 years or more.
Deep indoor penetration: LoRa radio modulation is typically Sub-Gigahertz which provides deep indoor coverage, connecting end devices located in basements (utility meters) and undergrounds (parking sensors).
Public and private deployment options: LoRaWAN provides flexible network deployment options including public and private networks. A public network is usually deployed with gateways and backhauls by a telecom operator where customers pay the network operator to connect their end devices. Private LoRaWAN networks can be deployed by anyone with their own gateways, backhaul, and end devices in range of those gateways.
FUOTA (Firmware Updates Over The Air): LoRaWAN simplifies updating applications and the LoRaWAN stack on end devices by using FUOTA .
Geolocation: LoRaWAN provides a low-cost, passive geolocation solution without the need for a GPS chip to be integrated within the end device. Geolocation is performed using TDOA (Time Difference Of Arrival)-based triangulation or Semtech's LoRa Cloud™ geolocation services.
End-to-end security: LoRaWAN uses 128-bit cryptographic keys and algorithms for providing two layers of security. The first layer of security is applied between the end device and the Network Server, and it ensuresMAC commands encryption. The second layer of security is applied between the end device and the Application Server, and it ensures end-to-end encryption of the application payload.
LoRaWAN use cases
With its features, LoRaWAN is suitable for many commercial and industrial applications. Some of the interesting LoRaWAN applications we see among The Things Stack customers are:
- Condition monitoring for ships
- Anti-theft asset monitoring for retail
- Temperature monitoring of vaccines
- Weather prediction for rural areas
- Parking availability monitoring
- Animal tracking on farms
- CO2 level measurement in workplaces
- Monitoring and improving soil conditions
- Synchronising train station clocks
The Things Stack is a complete and open source LoRaWAN Network Server that supports all existing LoRaWAN versions, operation modes A, B, and C, and all LoRa Alliance regional characteristics. The Things Stack allows you to connect any device and gateway of your choice to support your particular use case.
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Watch the video of Johan Stokking, co-founder and CTO of The Things Industries, explaining LoRa and LoRaWAN benefits.
https://youtu.be/205qkDX0K2w
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LoRaWAN® is a mark used under license from the LoRa Alliance®.