What is LoRaWAN and how is it related to LoRa?

summarize

LoRa technology is a low-power LAN wireless spread spectrum technology developed by Semtech that belongs to the physical layer

LoRaWAN is an open specification and technical standard; a low-power wide area network (LPWAN) standard based on Semtech LoRa devices that utilize unlicensed radio spectrum in the industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands.The LoRa Alliance, a not-for-profit association and fast-growing technology consortium, promotes the standardization of the LoRaWAN standard and the global harmonization

The protocol of LoRaWAN is similar to our carrier's protocol and belongs to the concept of a big network. The authorized channel for LoRaWAN in China is 470-510 MHZ.

In 2009, Nicholas Sornin and Olivier Seller, the two founders of cycleo in France, set up a prototype in low-power modulation of remote technology. Semtech, founded in 1960, started its main business focusing on the development of high-reliability power supply products, and then a few years ago acquired a company specializing in RF technology, thus entering the wireless RF field. In 2012, Semtech, with its advantage in FSK technology, had already involved in many fields such as industry and electronic meter reading, but when it came to cycleo, compared with the FSK modulation technology used by Semtech at that time, LoRa has more significant advantages in terms of communication distance, chip compatibility, performance and power consumption, cost, and networking. After that, LoRa had more significant advantages in terms of distance, chip compatibility, performance and power consumption, cost, and networking than the FSK modulation technology used by Semtech at the time. In the end, Semtech completed the acquisition of Cycleo in a textbook "blitzkrieg".

At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) held in Barcelona in March 2015, Semtech, together with AcTIlity, Cisco, IBM, Orange and other companies, founded the LoRa Alliance, one of the most important missions of the Alliance is to promote the popularization of the LoRaWAN specification in the world in order to better promote LoRa products. One of the most important missions of the alliance is to promote the global popularization of the LoRaWAN specification in order to better promote LoRa products, and the agreement is named LoRaWAN. This mode of operation guarantees Semtech's commercial interests in the LoRa private technology and products on the one hand, and opens up the potential global market of low-power, wide-area IoT wireless communications on the other hand.

In addition to Semtech, LoRa chip providers have licensed STM in France and ASR in China.

Three modes of LoRaWAN

Class A: Active upload function, encounter special events to upload data, or timed upload, belongs to asynchronous transmission. Similar products can be all kinds of sensors, usually sleep state, and start to report data when encountering problems.

Class B: data upload according to the required timing, usually sleep state, the server wakes up the terminal will begin to send data, the need for clock synchronization, every 128 seconds will be adjusted to synchronize the clock between the base station and the terminal, to ensure the effectiveness of listening. Similar projects are projects such as door locks

Class C: long charged state, commonly used street lamp case is this, the end point of the real-time charged state of the product, the majority of products in the smart home use this model

Note: All devices need to support Class A as a base

Network Architecture for LoRaWAN

All data needs to be judged and coordinated by the network server, which provides a single network control unit, forwards all packets through the gateway, and plans the downlinks of all nodes. The network server is the hub of the entire network, managing the entire LoRaWAN network.

Characteristics of LoRaWAN

vantage

• A LoRa gateway can effectively communicate and exchange data with multiple end-node devices
• Interference is reduced to negligible interference by linear FM spread spectrum modulation.
• LoRaWAN technology is very secure with an advanced encryption layer.
• LoRa-based end devices have very long battery life.
• LoRaWAN networks have a simple and easy to understand topology.
• The frequency of data transmission is licensed free of charge, which significantly reduces operating costs.
• LoRa technology has a very long data transmission range, often several kilometers.
• Very low and conservative power consumption in data communication

drawbacks

• Low data rates for LoRaWAN communication networks.
• Unauthorized frequency band channels for data transmission may be susceptible to interference.
• LoRaWAN networks are not designed to support the transmission of large data loads

LoRaWAN use cases

intelligent agriculture: Livestock testing, environmental monitoring, farm asset management, smart irrigation, soil testing

intelligent building:: Building security, smart construction sites, pest detection, space efficiency

smart city: Environmental monitoring, intelligent parking lot, intelligent fire protection, intelligent street lighting, garbage and waste disposal

Smart FactoryProduction and chemical tank levels, valve position and leak detection -, pressure, flow sensors, acoustic and remote perimeter and intrusion detection, condition-based monitoring (vibration, temperature), pump status/start/stop, associated fugitive emissions and environmental monitoring.

Intelligent Logistics: Asset management, logistics management, fleet management, management of perishable products

Smart Utilities: Electricity, water, gas, HVAC meters

Related resources

semtech provides open source code for a wide range of end products.

Gateway Common Chip Selection Manual: SX1301 (industrial-grade outdoor chip), SX1308 (indoor gateway chip)

Ali LoRaWAN Network Server

Tencent LoRaWAN Network Server

Low-power WAN application site

Mensch TechnologiesEntered the first batch of LoRa Alliance China members with meter reading project