The term LoRaWAN stands for Long Range Wide Area Network and refers to a long-range, energy-saving radio network.
LoRaWAN is primarily designed for wireless, battery-operated systems and complements the traditional mobile network.
Imagine you want to record the number of visitors at all entrances in a department store. Laying cables to all the doors would be a huge effort later on. With LoRaWAN, you use our battery-operated people counters and centrally install a LoRaWAN gateway. All counters connect to this gateway. The gateway then forwards the data via your router to our cloud services.
Due to its long range and low energy consumption, radio technology is particularly suitable for Information and data transmission in the so-called Internet of Things (Internet of Things – IoT). The intelligent networking of work and everyday objects forms the basis for modern cities of the future. The global LoRaWAN network is therefore an important building block for the digitalization of processes and the conception of smart cities.
Digression: The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the networking of objects via the internet. Intelligent devices and machines can communicate with each other and receive and transmit data via the network. This includes, for example, smart home solutions, such as remote control of home lighting via an app.
There are a variety of sensors available for using this wireless technology: occupied/occupied indicators for desks, occupied indicators for rooms (meeting rooms), CO2 sensors, people counters, temperature sensors, and much more.
A particular advantage of data transmission with LoRaWAN is the high radio range: In built-up urban areas, data transmission works over a distance of up to 2 km; in rural areas, a radio range of up to 15 km and more is possible. LoRaWAN also offers excellent building penetration, reaching even basements and underground garages.
In contrast to other wireless technologies (e.g. WLAN or Bluetooth), the energy consumption is very lowThis is primarily due to the small data volumes and long transmission times. This has a positive impact on the battery life of the end devices, which can last up to 10 years.
However, the final energy consumption also depends on the device selected. three device classes differentiated:
- Class A: LoRaWAN devices in this class are particularly energy-efficient and are also suitable for IoT applications. They are permanently in energy-saving mode and only communicate during randomly controlled time windows. These can be generated, for example, by a state change—such as exceeding a threshold.
- Class B: With this device class, a predefined time window can be set in which the LoRaWAN module wakes up from sleep mode and transmits or receives data.
- Class C: These devices operate in continuous receive mode and can receive and send information at any time. However, they are also among the most energy-consuming devices and are therefore better suited for systems with external power supplies.
Good to know: All communication from the sensor to the network server is encrypted.This makes data transmission with LoRaWAN extremely secure.
LoRaWAN and Smart Cities: Application Examples
LoRa wireless technology is a key component for the development of smart cities. The concept of "Smart Cities" aims to make areas such as mobility, energy, and public safety more efficient and environmentally friendly. the quality of life in urban areas can be improved.
The energy-saving and long-range LoRaWAN network opens up numerous Opportunities for new IoT applications of all kinds – whether in the public sector, industry, agriculture, or for private purposes. Below we have collected a few application examples:
- Control of road traffic through an intelligent traffic light system. Sensors in the vehicles ensure smooth traffic flow without causing lengthy delays.
- Monitoring air quality and indoor climate in offices, educational institutions, or event spaces. This can improve concentration and health, and optimize energy consumption in the building.
- Determination of soil moisture, temperature or precipitation amounts on farms. By measuring these values, immediate action can be taken and, for example, irrigation adjusted.
- Detect machine malfunctions or failures at an early stage. This is particularly advantageous in industrial and production facilities. For example, an alarm can be triggered as soon as certain limits are exceeded or machine utilization is too high.
- Level sensors for waste containers.
Source: IKB and eastek