Why LoRaWAN fits so well with Industry 4.0

Practically all major initiatives labeled as Industry 4.0 rely on the exploitation and analysis of data to have more information when making decisions and better automate processes.

Regarding the improvements in the processes made by any type of industry, it is necessary to greatly expand the data acquired from the field. In that context, LoRaWAN is proving to be the best technology for wireless data transmission, and in this post, we summarize the reasons why.

Technology Suitable for any Environment.

Whether in an industrial environment – with electromagnetic noise, moving elements, and several walls between the node and the antenna – or in an infrastructure control environment – with hundreds of meters or even kilometers of distance between a point and the Gateway – the technical characteristics of LoRaWAN allow communication in a robust and reliable manner.

Cost of Ownership

The fact that you can create your own private network implies that there will be no service cost associated with the network, beyond the replacement of batteries – which can last for years. In other words, setting up a LoRaWAN network has no more cost than the devices and the installation cost, without periodic payments for using it and having it available.

Little Infrastructure Required

With a single Gateway, coverage can be provided to an area of hundreds of thousands of square meters, and with two or three, a large installation can be covered, whether it is a factory or even an airport. Compared to other self-managed data transmission technologies, dozens or hundreds of modems are needed to provide the same coverage.

Data Transmission

Although the amount of data that LoraWAN can transmit is several orders of magnitude lower than technologies such as WiFi, 3G, or 4G, to give other examples, it is more than sufficient for the type of device for which it is intended – sensors, AGVs, instrumentation, peripherals, …-. In the end, LoRaWAN allows bidirectional communication, with large distances between nodes and Gateways, retry management, great penetration indoors, and with messages encrypted with AES-128. In other words, it meets all the requirements to communicate the necessary data securely.

Ecosystem

LoRaWAN has established itself as a standard for self-managed IoT networks. At the European level, they have been deploying public and private networks for facility management projects for years, Smart Cities, Utilities, agriculture, … Its characteristics mean that a large number of device manufacturers, installers, integrators, and end users are choosing it as a technology to address the deployment of IoT projects.

Interoperability

LoRaWAN is a technology that is not linked to a specific sector, but is used in the vast majority of them. This is not only due to its properties, but also that the transmitted data is and should be easily integrated with the other control platforms in an installation. LoRaWAN allows you to avoid closed vertical solutions where, obligatorily, everything from the node to the application belongs to a single brand.

Did you find it interesting? Are you interested in learning about success stories or how to start testing this technology? If so, do not hesitate to contact us.