Semtech Corporation and Lacuna Space in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Parametric GmbH extend a Lora WAN network by providing satellite connectivity to fill voids between the terrestrial gateways out of cellular reach and give continuous global coverage. Lacuna Space uses a constellation of polar low-earth orbiting satellites to receive messages from sensors integrated with Semtech’s LoRa devices and wireless radio frequency technology (LoRa Technology) on the ground. At about 500km above the ground, the satellites circle over the poles of the earth every 100 minutes and as the earth revolves below them, the satellites cover the globe.
The signals use a long range wide area network protocol, Lora WAN, which is specifically designed to conserve battery power. The satellites store the messages for a short period of time until they pass over the network of ground stations. Data is relayed to an application on a terrestrial network or be viewed on a web based application. This is ideal for any Internet of Things (IoT) devices that need broader, continuous coverage including asset tracking and monitoring livestock.
LoRa technology features:
- Long Range: A single base station using LoRa Technology enables deep penetration capability for dense urban environments and indoor coverage, while also providing the ability to connect to sensors more than 15-30 miles away in rural areas.
- Low Power: Enables unprecedented battery lifetime of up to 10 years depending on the application.
- Geolocation: Enables tracking applications without GPS or additional power consumption.
- Low Cost: LoRa Technology reduces up front infrastructure investments and operating costs, as well as end-node sensor costs.
- Open Standard: The Lora WAN open protocol, provided by the LoRa Alliance, ensures interoperability among applications, IoT solution providers and telecom operators to speed adoption and deployment.
For more details, visit Lacuna Space and Semtech.