What Is LoRa®?
LoRa (short for long range) is a spread spectrum modulation technique derived from chirp spread spectrum (CSS) technology. Semtech’s LoRa is a long range, low power wireless platform that has become the de facto wireless platform of Internet of Things (IoT). LoRa devices and networks such as the LoRaWAN® enable smart IoT applications that solve some of the biggest challenges facing our planet: energy management, natural resource reduction, pollution control, infrastructure efficiency, and disaster prevention. Semtech’s LoRa devices have amassed several hundred known uses cases for smart cities, homes and buildings, communities, metering, supply chain and logistics, agriculture, and more. With hundreds of millions of devices connected to networks in more than 100 countries and growing, LoRa is creating a smarter planet.
Technology Ecosystem
LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN standard offer compelling features for IoT applications including long range, low power consumption and secure data transmission. The technology is utilized by public, private or hybrid networks and provides greater range than Cellular networks. Deployments can easily integrate into existing infrastructure and enable low-cost battery-operated IoT applications. Semtech's LoRa chipsets are incorporated into devices manufactured by a large ecosystem of IoT solution providers, and connected to networks around the globe. Simply stated, LoRa connects devices to the Cloud, providing a "voice" to things — making the world a better place to live, work and play.
LoRa and LoRaWAN®
LoRa is the silicon developed by Semtech, and LoRaWAN® is a standard for interoperability managed by the LoRa Alliance®, a non-profit technology alliance of which Semtech is a founding member and board sponsor. While most IoT use cases can be solved by the vast LoRaWAN ecosystem, customers may consider LoRa PHY with a proprietary network implementation on top. An example of this is the Amazon Sidewalk network for smart home and community applications. With hundreds of millions of end nodes deployed, there are use cases for LoRa in nearly every vertical market.
LoRa Devices: Connected Everywhere
Designed for IoT communications, LoRa devices enable the connection between remote end nodes and low power wide area networks (LPWANs) for delivery to analytics applications.
Devices
LoRa Modulation: LoRa is the physical (PHY) silicon layer, or wireless modulation, used to create the long range communication link.
Transceivers & End-Nodes: Transceivers configured with LoRa devices are embedded into end nodes, or sensor devices, designed for a multitude of industry applications.
Picocells & Gateways: Sensors capture and transmit data to gateways over distances near and far, indoor and outdoor, with minimal power requirement.
Networks
Network Server: Gateways send information via Wi-Fi, Ethernet or Cellular to the network server, which is responsible for network management functions like over-the-air activation, data de-duplication, dynamic frame routing, adaptive rate control, traffic management, and administration.
Applications
Application Servers & Cloud IoT Services: Applications interpret the data collected by sensors, applying techniques like machine learning and artificial intelligence to solve business problems for a smarter planet.
LoRa Cloud™ Services
Semtech’s LoRa Cloud services deliver easy to use “ingredients” that solution providers can leverage to deliver value more rapidly with less development overhead. The service enables developers to quickly build IoT solutions, which leverage multi-modal location capabilities (including Wi-Fi, GNSS and geolocation via LoRaWAN) without taking on the development complexity involved in building a solution from scratch. LoRa Cloud services are designed from the outset to support flexibility in deployment options, cost effectiveness and ease of use.
Key Features of LoRa
More Than an Integrated Circuit
Semtech is committed to developing a LoRa product roadmap to simplify Internet of Things (IoT) applications and enable a faster time to market for solution providers and systems integrators.
Simplify Development and Accelerate Time to Market
Semtech helps innovators by supplying the necessary tools to reduce complexity and increase the speed of building connected solutions. A bundle of accelerators streamlines the process of developing, deploying, and managing IoT applications leveraging the LoRa Edge asset management platform. LoRa Cloud offers value-added APIs to facilitate simple solutions to common development tasks, including LoRa Cloud Device & Application Services offering a full set of lifecycle management features, LoRa Cloud Geolocation enabling the location tracking of any devices connected to LoRaWAN networks, and LoRa Cloud Device Join which allows application owners to claim pre-provisioned modem devices, and much more.
Benefits of LoRa Devices
Smart Utilities
Leading the Digital Transformation of Water Management with Automated and Remote Meter Reading
1200 water leak identified, located and repaired
1 million cubic meters of water saved anually
8% increase in water network efficiency
Smart Logistics
A Fresh Approach to Asset Quality Management in Cold Chain Refrigeration
Replace manual core temperature monitoring of food
Create retrofit solutions to work across legacy systems
Predict core temperature of food with new sensor technology
Smart Buildings
Eliminating Water Waste and Leakage
22% average water and sewer reduction
18 months average ROI
Successful pilot project with Costco expanding to more than 500 global locations
Smart Environment
Improving Nature Restoration and Eliminating Agriculture Water Waste
Customers reduce up to 30% water usage
Capture moisture sensor data in remote areas
Reduce water usage with precision irrigation