LoRa gateway powers wireless modulation and it also helps in providing a huge spectrum of communication among various devices.
LoRa gateway allows the operator of an Internet of Things network to trade and communicate data rate for enhanced power and spectrum for optimization of the (performance-based) networks.
LoRa Gateway: BENEFITS
LoRa gateway offers benefits such as long-range capability and appreciable affordability. These two are its main advantages. LoRa gateway is typically used in Smart cities. In smart cities, there are low-powered IoT devices that are also very inexpensive. Sensors and monitors spread across a wide area to send concise packets of data centrally to the administrator.
10 Myths About LoRaWAN
- The first myth that comes across the minds of people is the fact that LoRa and LoRaWAN are the same. This communication protocol named “LoRaWAN” is a system architecture and is used for the network. But on the other hand, the LoRa gateway is a traditional radio layer that allows communication (long-range) links. The LoRa gateway modifies the data and changes it into EM waves (electromagnetic waves). The method that it uses comes into the category of transmission purpose and is known as CSS which is short for “Chirp Spread Spectrum”. This encodes the data in frequency-modulated chirps. It is frequently used in the military as well as space communication industry for over 10 years or so.
- The second myth that crosses our minds is that we are oblivious to the fact that LoRaWAN can transmit signals over a distance of 10 kilometers.
The range depends on various factors when it comes to a traditional network of LoRaWAN technology. These factors are indoor or outdoor LoRa gateway, a payload of the message, antenna and so on.
- The third myth about LoRaWAN is that people believe this device cannot last up to a decade. But we all know this is far to being true at all.
The LoRaWAN network has many features, one of the most prominent one of which is the fact that it has very long battery life. This is achieved by a step by step process in which devices are programmed in such a manner that they go into sleep mode when they are not transferring any messages, this way the battery life tends to increase. The capacity of the battery decides the longevity of any node. Sleep mode extends charge cycles.
- The fourth myth is that people are not aware of the fact as to whether or not they can share images or files on LoRaWAN. We know that the speed is considerably low at which we send data or files over LoRaWAN. So it is not news when we say that we must not expect to transfer heavy files over the LoRaWAN network. It is only meant for transmitting small sensor data packets that are utilised for alarms, triggers and monitoring purposes.
- The fifth myth is that LoRa nodes only send data. A very essential feature of LoRaWAN is that it can support two-way (bi-directional) communication. This translates to the fact that an end device, that is, a sensor, can send messages to the network and also can effortlessly receive any messages from the network to the device.
- The sixth myth is that LoRaWAN is not safe. We must note that safety and security is one of the most vital priorities of LoRaWAN technology. Having said that, it uses two different layers of security. One of which is used for the network and the other one is used for the application. This security promises nodes of the network to be authentic. The application layer promises that the network operator has no access to the application data of the end user.
- The seventh myth is that some would believe that they have to pay some nominal fees to access and use LoRaWAN, which is certainly not true at all. The only thing that we need is a few end devices, to begin with.
- People believe that LoRaWAN is only used for IIoT sensor monitoring purposes. But we know that LoRaWAN is not restricted to only monitoring or alerts. It has widened its field of work over time and space. It ranges from smart cities to industrial Internet of Things.
- The next myth is that people are unsure about the support received from the industry. But in reality, LoRaWAN is supported by companies with huge alliances. It is known as the LoRa alliance.
- The last myth about LoRaWAN is that we cannot track LoRa nodes without GPS receivers. This is not true. LoRaWAN provides the features of niched localisation without any requirement of GPS whatsoever. This holds when it comes to tracking assets as well as sensors.
Conclusion
To conclude, LoRa gateway and LoRaWAN provides safe, secure, reliable, two-directional, long-range as well as low-power communication. It can go up to long distances and can deliver small packets of data.
