LoRa and LoRaWAN is short for “Long Range Radio”. 在 2009, it was demonstrated to the world by a start-up French company Cycleo as a spread spectrum modulation technology. The technology is based on linear frequency modulation (CSS).
The creation of LoRaWAN began after Semtech acquired Cycleo for $5 million in March 2012. The first LoRaWAN specification was co-founded by IBM Semtech and Actility.
1. What is LoRa technology?
LoRa technology is a long-distance wireless transmission technology, while at the same time it has low energy consumption. 它也是LPWAN通訊技術的一種. 現在, 採用特殊的擴頻技術，大大提高了接收靈敏度，有效擴展了系統的容量.
其最大的優點是比其他無線方式覆蓋距離更遠，但功耗更低. 而且, 基礎設施成本遠低於其他網絡.
美國Semtech公司是第一個採用並推廣該技術的公司. 目的是為使用者提供可以實現遠距離傳輸、低功耗的無線通訊手段. LoRa網路有 4 成分: 終端, 雲, 閘道, 和伺服器.
LoRa技術以其遠距離能力而聞名. 讓我以數據為例: 使用單一網關或基地台, Lora can cover hundreds of square kilometers.
2. What is LoRaWAN technology?
LoRaWAN is a remote wide area networking protocol developed by the LoRa It has a large coverage area measured in kilometers. Things can be wirelessly connected to the Internet with LoRaWAN technology. LoRaWAN also has the 物聯網 (物聯網) features, enabling two-way communication, mobility services, 等等.
It uses the unlicensed spectrum in the ISM band to define the system as well as the protocol of the network.
3. What is LoRa Alliance?
The LoRa Consortium was founded in March 2015. Since its foundation, the LoRaWAN specification has been constantly updated, from version 1.0.0 to version 1.0.2, and currently available for download is version 1.0.2 completed in July 2016. LoRa Alliance is a non-profit international alliance organization. The aim of this organization is to advance the standardization process of Low Power Area Network (低功耗廣域網). As you can see, 該規範的主要作者包括 Semtech 的 N.Sernin 和 M.Uis, 艾西奇, 和IBM的T.Ramp, 和 O.Sent of Actilty, 所有人都是聯盟董事會成員.
LoRa聯盟成員涵蓋來自世界各地的企業和集體, 包括設備製造商, 感測器製造商, 晶片製造商, 創新新創企業, 等等.
據LoRa聯盟統計 2016, 大多數歐洲公司加入了該聯盟, 其次是亞太地區公司. 雖然成立才兩年多, 其聯盟成員超過 500, 使聯盟迅速成為物聯網領域的典範. 成員包括IBM, 思科, 富士康, 惠普, 阿里巴巴, 施耐德, 頭, SK電訊, 橘子, 中興通訊, 和其他行業領導者, 以及大量的中小企業.
As an organization that mainly aims to spread the technical standards in the first place, nowadays Lora Alliance is also trying hard to promote the market-oriented alliance of the industry.
The Alliance Secretary Committee is composed of four parts, which are responsible for technology development, strategic decision-making, 行銷, and certification. The four committees perform their own duties but are interconnected, and are fully committed to the standardization of low-power wide-area networks. 他們之中, the strategy committee is in charge of the major strategic decisions of the alliance and the development of the planning alliance. The technical committee takes care of the certification and updating of technical annotations. The Accreditation Committee is responsible for the Alliance’s accreditation programs and testing specifications. The Marketing Committee is responsible for public relations, 晉升, and exhibitions.
4. What is the difference between LoRa and LoRaWAN?
LoRa is a communication technology that achieves long-distance coverage and low power consumption at the same time. LoRaWAN, the abbreviation of LoRa wide area network, is a communication protocol evolved by LoRa technology.
You can use LoRa technology without using LoRaWAN, but there are limitations in functionality and performance. LoRaWAN’s protocol can help build large networks on the basis of LoRa.
一般來說, LoRa is a physical layer transport technology that allows you to exchange information between devices. For adaptive data rates to work, symmetric uplink and downlink require adequate downlink capacity. These features make LoRaWAN have a very high capacity. The network can be deployed with minimal infrastructure, and when capacity is needed, more gateways can be added, data rates can be varied, cross-talk times can be reduced, and network capacity can be expanded by six to eight times.
5. What are the applications of LoRaWAN technology?
第一的, increase production and simplify farming methods
The use of LoRaWAN for smart agriculture production has become more and more popular. Since farmers can easily visualize and monitor their crops, 基礎設施, 環境, and all the other things with smart sensors. So that they can make better decisions to increase efficiency and production, and simplify farming methods at the same time. IoT agricultural sensors are compact in size and can determine many parameters to understand environmental aspects. LoRaWAN is widely used in smart agriculture for its excellent ability to cover a wide arrange of rural areas, while at the same time it has low power consumption and extended battery life. Together with the LoRaWAN sensor, they can detect the soil environment and help farmers to make better crop planting decisions.
LoRaWAN gateway for smart agriculture
現在, the application of IoT-related technologies in the field of smart agriculture is rapidly emerging. Based on LoRaWAN gateways and various LoRa sensing devices, data can be quickly and effectively collected, transmitted, 處理, 並儲存 (such as monitoring plant growth-related environmental parameters); Through data analysis, farmers can take corresponding measures in a timely manner. 另一方面, since agricultural land usually lacks wired energy supply and reliable network coverage, 大多數情況下, additional deployment of on-site connections and energy harvesting (such as solar energy) are required for Its power supply to realize information exchange between IoT nodes.
第二, accelerate urban development
LoRaWAN gateway is also widely used in urban. LoRa technology can make everyday connected lighting, waste removal, vehicle services and smarter.
LoRaWAN gateway for smart cities
The cost of LoRaWAN infrastructure is very low compared to other networks, which helps to reduce the overall cost of the smart city.
The long-distance coverage ability enables LoRaWAN technology to help cities overcome network coverage challenges. It can provide coverage that traditional 無線上網 solutions cannot.
Applying LoRa technology to street lighting systems can minimize electricity costs, and the fact that LoRa technology targets low cost and low power consumption can make street lighting systems more widely popularized.
LoRa technology also benefits smart parking systems, where users can share parking status with any LoRa-enabled device. With the blessing of this technology, the ordinary parking behavior of the city has evolved into a smart space that detects the absence, arrival, and departure of vehicles at the same time.
LoRa technology can also be used in various urban applications such as smart sensors, 智慧型相機, and smart flood sensors.
第三, monitoring and tracking, so that health is more guaranteed
LoRa technology is also suitable for medical applications because of its low cost, long-distance coverage, 和低功耗. It has great benefits for improving health care and livelihoods.
例如, tracking Alzheimer’s and dementia patients in real-time. Lorawan-enabled wearables monitor Alzheimer’s patients in real-time and alert caregivers when patients leave designated safe zones to ensure maximum patient safety. LoRaWAN Gateway can also be applied to children’s wearables, and LORA-enabled bracelets and smartwatches can be used to track children’s locations. Parents can find their children the quickest time when they are in danger or accident.
LoRa technology can also be used to check the temperature of food, which can help prevent food spoilage and food waste, as well as help prevent food loss and food safety due to storage temperature.
LoRaWAN Gateway for smart healthcare
In addition to the above scenarios, LoRa technology can also be applied to smart homes, building equipment, home security, smart industry, smart metering, supply chain and logistics, 和更多. 另外, LoRa technology enables vehicles, cargo, trucks, and other assets to be easily monitored over large geographic areas and harsh environmental conditions due to its long-range, low-power nature and strong geo-positioning capabilities, making it easier for smart supply chains and logistics to transport high-value assets.
