The LoRa Technology - Part 1: Definition
What is LoRa all about?
The LoRa Technology (Long Range) allows for the communication of connected devices .
Signals are transmitted at a low speed via radio waves with low power consumption but a long range, which allows IoT objects equipped with a LoRaWAN network protocol to be connected to the Internet by gateways.
The name LoRaWAN comes from the phrase “Long Range Radio Wide Area Network”.
Made in France: The LoRa Technology finds its origins in France, created by the Startup Cycleo. The technology was then sold to the American company SemTech, a semiconductor specialist.
In the field of digitalization of objects, LoRaWAN is an IoT communication platform. The IoT is not a trend: everyday new networks of connected devices are deployed within companies for all types of uses. The potential for development is exponential as we are talking about 55 billion of IoT devices in the world by 2025.
By combining artificial intelligence and IoT, we are creating emerging properties, intelligent digital environments, which multiply the value linked to the collected information.
Agile networks
• The LoRa solution is open source.
• Radio waves are also accessible to the public.
• The deployment and setup of the LoRa devices is easy and quick.
• The device can operate for 10 years with a simple small battery, with no need for human intervention after setup.
• A radio antenna (public or private) makes it possible to aggregate data from connected devices within a radius of several kilometers.
Accessible communication
Often, IoT devices perform fairly basic functions. They are equipped with simple sensors that do not require to transfer gigabits of information on the network.
The idea behind the LoRa Technology is to save resources to enable the circulation of these small packets of data. We are talking about a low speed network that is largely sufficient for exchanging IoT data, unlike broadband networks that consume a lot of energy, such as 4G or 5G. The LoRa network optimizes the electrical consumption of objects and extends their life cycle.
And it doesn’t stop there. The technology also enables geolocation without GPS for optimal energy efficiency.
The LoRa technical infrastructure will allow us to easily keep up with the next technological advances in IoT.
A great potential
The LoRa technology’s booming growth is closely linked to the explosion of IoT devices in industries and projects that require tracking counts, Smart Cities, 4.0 industries… and of course for in-store analytics!
There are multiple IoTs that allow retailers to manage their connected store today. A Smart Store can thus collect and analyze relevant data on visitors to improve the customer experience, sales and revenue.
In the next article, we will showcase specific use cases of IoT coupled with the LoRa Technology.
Stay tuned!