Category
Applied
Description
During catastrophic emergencies, when the existing cellular infrastructure is rendered unusable, reliable off-grid communication equipment can save lives. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of low-cost consumer radio hardware utilizing LoRa wireless technology in an emergency communications scenario. During catastrophic emergencies, when the existing cellular infrastructure is rendered unusable, reliable off-grid communication equipment can save lives. LoRa is a wireless communication technology that can be easily deployed with low-cost radio hardware. Due to its low power consumption, flexible deployment, and wide range, LoRa modules are well-suited for setting up a network in an emergency response scenario when traditional communication infrastructure is inoperable or inaccessible. Different types of emergencies will require users to utilize their radios in varying environments, which in turn affects the RF signal propagation. To better understand how to optimally use this technology in emergency situations, this study aimed to answer the question, “What are the environmental limitations of utilizing low-cost, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) communication systems in emergencies?” Two LoRa radios using identical COTS hardware and an existing networking software called MeshCore were used for experimentation. One of the radios designated as the receiver recorded the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as the transmitter radio pinged it in various environments. These results demonstrate that Meshcore LoRa technology has robust performance across different urban environments, making it a feasible technology for emergency communications. Future research can explore how to physically optimize the node with custom hardware and observing how a mesh network with more than two nodes performs in these environments.
Environmental Limitations of a Low-Cost, COTS LoRa MeshCore Node Network
Applied
During catastrophic emergencies, when the existing cellular infrastructure is rendered unusable, reliable off-grid communication equipment can save lives. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of low-cost consumer radio hardware utilizing LoRa wireless technology in an emergency communications scenario. During catastrophic emergencies, when the existing cellular infrastructure is rendered unusable, reliable off-grid communication equipment can save lives. LoRa is a wireless communication technology that can be easily deployed with low-cost radio hardware. Due to its low power consumption, flexible deployment, and wide range, LoRa modules are well-suited for setting up a network in an emergency response scenario when traditional communication infrastructure is inoperable or inaccessible. Different types of emergencies will require users to utilize their radios in varying environments, which in turn affects the RF signal propagation. To better understand how to optimally use this technology in emergency situations, this study aimed to answer the question, “What are the environmental limitations of utilizing low-cost, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) communication systems in emergencies?” Two LoRa radios using identical COTS hardware and an existing networking software called MeshCore were used for experimentation. One of the radios designated as the receiver recorded the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as the transmitter radio pinged it in various environments. These results demonstrate that Meshcore LoRa technology has robust performance across different urban environments, making it a feasible technology for emergency communications. Future research can explore how to physically optimize the node with custom hardware and observing how a mesh network with more than two nodes performs in these environments.
