LoRaWAN Transmissions in Salt Water for Superficial Marine Sensor Networking: Laboratory and Field Tests

In this paper, the authors present the results of a set of measurements carried out to analyze the transmission capabilities of the LoRaWAN technology for underwater to above water transmission in saline water. A theoretical analysis was used to model the link budget of the radio channel in the considered operative conditions and to estimate the electrical permittivity of salt water. Preliminary measurements were performed in the laboratory at different salinity levels to confirm the application boundaries of the technology, then field tests were conducted in the Venice lagoon. While these test are not focused on demonstrating the usability of LoRaWAN to collect data underwater, the achieved results demonstrate that LoRaWAN transmitters can be used in all those conditions when they are expected to be partially or totally submerged below a thin layer of marine water, in accordance with the prediction of the proposed theoretical model. This achievement paves the way for the deployment of superficial marine sensor networks in the Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) context, as for the monitoring of bridges, harbor structures, water parameters and water sport athletes and for the realization of high-water or fill-level alarm systems.