Reducing Operational Expenses of LoRaWAN-Based Internet of Remote Things Applications

Area of Science:

• * Internet of Remote Things (IoRT)
• * Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWAN)

Background:

• * LoRaWAN is a prevalent LPWAN technology for IoRT monitoring solutions.
• * IoRT systems connect remote sensing areas to urban data processing infrastructure.
• * High backhaul traffic costs are a major operational expense, limiting IoRT adoption, especially in developing countries.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To introduce Node-Aware-LoRaWAN (NA-LoRaWAN), an extension to the LoRaWAN protocol.
• * To decrease operational expenses of IoRT systems by reducing backhaul traffic.
• * To enhance the affordability and applicability of IoRT solutions in cost-sensitive domains.

Main Methods:

• * Development of the Node-Aware-LoRaWAN (NA-LoRaWAN) protocol extension.
• * Comparative performance analysis between NA-LoRaWAN and standard LoRaWAN implementations.
• * Evaluation across different network scenarios to quantify traffic reduction.

Main Results:

• * NA-LoRaWAN demonstrated a reduction in backhaul traffic ranging from 12% to 34%.
• * The extent of traffic reduction varied depending on the specific network scenario.
• * The proposed extension effectively lowers the operational costs associated with IoRT systems.

Conclusions:

• * NA-LoRaWAN offers a viable method for reducing operational expenses in IoRT systems.
• * The protocol extension enables wider adoption of IoRT in low-budget application domains.
• * Potential applications include precision agriculture, environmental monitoring, and early natural hazard detection.