The number of companies willing to build a smarter world is growing every day. A couple of years ago it was impossible to even imagine that with IoT we would manage to solve issues with water, energy, security and safety. Today, with the help of IoT solutions we monitor and control the situation in the industry sector, agriculture, smart cities, e-health etc. It won’t take long that all of us will be able to monitor every object at our homes. Indeed, the Internet of Things connects the world, creates new efficiency and opens up opportunities for businesses. Let us now get an insight into technologies that help objects exchange data.
What is LoRa and LoRaWAN?
It goes without saying that the IoT world is full of huge volumes of data. LoRa technology creates a Long-Range communication link, longer than Bluetooth or Wi-Fi links, that allows objects to transfer their data from one another. The distribution of data is possible due to the LoRaWAN protocol that creates scalable and flexible IoT networks. These can be used either in cities or in remote areas.
CSS, or chirp spread spectrum, lays the ground for LoRa technology. For a long time, CSS has been used to conduct communication in the military and space sector, which means that it is able to provide long communication distances and resists any interference. With that in mind, it is easy to assume that it is perfectly suitable for different dense environments.
While LoRa serves as a physical layer protocol, LoRaWAN, that is Long Range Wide Area Networks, stands as a media access control layer which is responsible for the extension of LoRa onto Internet networks. The function of this routing protocol is to run the communication between connected end-node objects and LPWAN gateways.
The “brain” of LoRaWAN is a network server. With LoRa sensors, it takes care of two-way data flow, regulates the redundancy of received data and packets, maintains security, arranges downlink frames, etc. Later on, the collected data is transmitted to app servers.
IoT Solutions for Your Needs
From agriculture to healthcare, from facility management to retail, enterprises of various sizes are showing how IoT devices are changing their businesses in different sectors. Business owners all around the world are now fully embracing the IoT world. Let us take a look at how IoT applications generate value and open up new horizons for your business.
IoT in Agriculture
There is no need to say that both big and small farms require security checks, safety control and protection from thefts, natural disasters and other incidents that may occur. Until today, farm owners have got to monitor all of it on their own. They also have had to hold control over the condition of livestock, the environment, the quality of produce, the agricultural facilities etc. Driven by LoRaWAN, IoT solutions now step up to the plate and conduct all these processes by enabling detection and transferring the data for long distances: cattle monitoring; agricultural facilities management; fire, flood or theft detection, crops condition, soil health, irrigation control, etc.
IoT in Public Sector
Today, with innovative IoT solutions the public sector has become much safer and more convenient for citizens. More and more city authorities and local governments are starting the implementation of smart systems to improve and optimize a city service management.
Smart waste management system helps to collect the waste when the need occurs, and not according to the schedule. More than that, sanitation specialists will manage to work more efficiently by planning and optimizing their routes and saving up to 50% of unnecessary costs.
Smart parking is something that you might have come across in our blog. If not, do not hesitate to pop round. So, to put it simply, with smart parking IoT, you can manage and monitor parking lots, gather and use the data from parking spaces, keep track of traffic flow, innovate a parking payment system etc.
Smart washroom is another solution that the IoT world has to offer to you. With this solution you will say goodbye to worries that the soap or towel will run out at the worst moment. More than that, the IoT application will maintain the restroom in the most comfortable condition by tracking the presence of users, notifying when bins are full, real-time detecting and reporting of smoking in non-smoking areas.
Among important services in the public sector there are security and safety as well. Smart City is not possible when it is unsafe. Therefore, with IoT sensors and trackers the local government is able to detect the unwanted manholes, prevent thefts and actively respond to possible offences, thus, providing the highest possible level of safety and security to the citizens.
IoT in Logistics & Supply Chain
Quintagroup offers a development of LPWAN IoT applications for Logistics & Supply Chain as well. Thanks to LoRaWAN technology, it is possible to keep a real-time trace of assets, track and manage the condition of cargo and vehicles fleet.
The transportation of medicine and organic food demands specific conditions. Temperature, the intensity of incoming light and tilt should be taken under strict control and monitored from the time it is being loaded to the very delivery.
Warehouses, airports and ports, where huge loads of work are carried out manually can be replaced with a single smart solution.
Key Benefits of LoRaWAN
Long Range: the technology enables communication between sensors and base stations on the distance lengths up to 15 km.
Optimized Battery Life: the transmission of data requires less than 50 mA, which drastically saves battery and prolongs its life up to 10 years.
Cost-efficiency: LoRaWAN technology is affordable due to its cost-efficient deployment of infrastructure and maintenance.
Network Geolocation: the network triangulation that is used by LoRaWAN makes possible a passive location of any LoRa device. In comparison with GPS, it gives life to new tracking solutions, saves money and battery life.
High Level of Security: it says that LoRaWAN has two security layers, one of them is at the network level, while another - at the application level. These layers of protection stand upon the security and reliability of encryption keys - the Network Session Key and the Application Session key, the length of which is 128 bits. So, basically, users can be sure that they are protected from any data loss.
With That Knowledge in Mind
Quintagroup provides the development of LoRaWAN software to break new ground for your businesses. A single IoT solution can give a push to the development, optimization and maintenance of your project.
If that is what you’ve been looking for, we can’t wait to start working with you.