Internet of Things Applications
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a technology phenomenon that is expected to equip billions of everyday objects with connectivity and intelligence for improved analytics, performance, efficiency, and lifestyle in the coming years. Semtech's LoRa® wireless radio frequency technology is an award-winning product platform that is driving low power wide area network (LPWAN) and sensor deployments for IoT. In addition to LoRa, smart switching, electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection, and surge protection product platforms can be used to protect and enhance IoT applications.
Build vs. Buy: What’s Your Hardware Approach?
Whether you buy or design your own sensors featuring LoRa is highly dependent on your specific situation and application needs. Buying off-the-shelf sensors requires the least amount of development effort and allows you to focus on your core expertise in developing an application or system. At the other end of the spectrum, building your own gives the greatest level of flexibility and control over the implementation, but can incur the highest design and certification costs. Whatever path you choose, Semtech is here to provide options.
| Category | Development Effort Level | Developer Goal |
|---|---|---|
|
Sensors
|
Least
|
Software or solution developers who want to focus on developing an application or system and can find acceptable sensor solutions in the ecosystem. |
|
Connectivity
|
Minimal
|
A developer who has a sensor design with a standard output like Ethernet or a voltage level and needs a modem to send data. Having two parts (one sensor and one modem) is not an impediment to their deployment. |
|
Boards
|
Moderate
|
A developer that wants to integrate their sensor design and communication into a single small package, but does not want to design their own radio integration. New electronic design can often be avoided if using standard adapters or hardware interfaces. Like the previous categories, this also has the advantage of having a pre-certified radio module. |
|
Modules
|
More
|
This is a solution for a developer who is looking for a smaller form-factor for their design or more control over the available radio features. This does require creating a board or interface to link the sensor to a modem. Like the previous categories, this option often has the advantage of having a pre-certified radio module. |
|
Chips
|
Most
|
This is for the developer who wants the highest level of flexibility and control in their implementation. This option incurs the highest design and certification costs but usually allows for the best cost at volume as well as the smallest and most efficient design. |
Starting Your IoT Sensor Design
Semtech’s LoRa ICs operate over various regional unlicensed radio frequency bands. Key considerations include frequency range, link budget, Rx current, and Tx power. Whether you’re migrating from prior generation products, or starting an entirely new design, Semtech’s LoRa IC portfolio is footprint compatible for global frequency coverage.
Get started here:
- How Do I Implement LoRa?
- Wireless & RF Selector Guide
- Explore commercially available LoRa modules from the LoRa ecosystem
Gateways
As the intermediaries transmitting sensor data to the Cloud, gateways for networks based on LoRa are inherently more complex to design. Explore available Semtech products to design your own or visit our ecosystem catalog to find commercially available, off-the-shelf gateways to suit your needs.
Tools and Resources
Semtech offers a wealth of LoRa resources including:
- Open source software building blocks: LoRa Basics™ and GitHub
- LoRa Cloud™ Geolocation services: Easy to use tools to accelerate IoT solutions development with multi-modal location capabilities
- LoRa reference and developer kits