IoT ? IR 4.0 ? Let's get started with LoRaWAN

Internet of Things (IoT) are being famous across the century and in Malaysia, we are begin the transformations initiate by the Malaysia government, moving in Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0).

What would expected to change is the style of living, working and communicating with families, friends and businesses. Rebuild of business models and employment trends are happening now!

The potential of IoT had gone beyond just simplifying but working with AI, it could use the gathered or pool data for analysis and perform ML to produce something more than we expected in future.

LoRaWAN is which mean for Long Range and it specifically designed with low power working as a MAC protocol for Wide Area Network wirelessly. A deployment of LoRaWAN will allow 'things' to be connected over the internet nationwide. It can facilitate bi-directional communications through electromagnetic waves, secured with end-to-end mechanism, install either portable or permanent to be use freely for decades.

In network technology, the existing communication method can't serve all of the implemented projects and applications in IoT. LoRa + LoRaWAN can be consider a type of LPWAN which it just need to powered by DC current, a lithium battery perhaps which can last multi-year, probably a decade and it is designed for 'things' = sensors or nodes virtually or physically. The action are configure to send small data or real time signals over long distances for a few or many times within an hour from different environments.

The architecture above shows the application working in LPWAN for the communication protocol and network architecture. It is the key features to determine a battery life, capacity, quality of service, security and also variety of applications under a served network.

**Notes :

LoRa = PHY Layer

LoRaWAN  = MAC Layer

LoRa + LoRaWAN = LPWAN technology stack

The overall network architecture can be used in existing deployed networks which utilised a mesh network communications. Inside a mesh network, all end-nodes will forwarding the information P2P with other nodes which can increase the communication coverage, sizing of the network, getting complex and could consume much battery supply for long hours. Try with a long range star architecture which will preserving battery lifetime for long range communication and also reduce its complexity.

In deploying network, one principal is always correct which is good link = close to a gateway. Logically, there is no other excuses for it to have lowest data rate to fill up the available coverage. By shifting to higher data rate, the online hour is shortened  and it create more availability for other nodes to perform data transmission. A network should always deployed with a very minimum infrastructure  and also limited capacity which only be required. Gateway could be unlimited, to boost the data rates, reducing overhearing to other gateway and maintain adequate capacity. To achieve optimum end application, it could have different specifications or requirements. 3 Classes had been introduces to fit the best for NETWORK DOWNLINK COMMUNICATION LATENCY versus BATTERY LIFETIME. 

With LoRa End-Node Solution, IoT application and IR 4.0 challenges are simplified. 4 Highlights you are getting into LoRa technology:

• LONG RANGE
• Greater coverage then cellular network
• Deep indoor coverage
• Applying star topology

• MAX LIFETIME
• Low power optimised
• Lifetime are more than a decade
• 10X better than cellular M2M

• MULTI-USAGE
• Higher capacity
• Multi users and nodes
• Deploy publicly and secured transmissions

• LOW COST
• Minimum infrastructure
• Cost are lower at end node
• Open source applications & developments

Please stay with us, there will be more IoT and IR 4.0 information and practical implementations in the coming posts. Feel free to share this article around and do like & follow at our Facebook page.