Introducing a survey methodology for assessing LoRaWAN coverage in Smart Campus scenarios

Abstract

The LoRa is a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technology. It has been proposed as a viable wireless connection method for the implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT), thanks to its wide coverage, low complexity and low energy consumption. Several studies ave been carried out about real coverage performance. In this article, a new test methodology for the experimental evaluation of LoRaWAN coverage within a smart campus is presented. The new approach consists in the definition of devices, method and procedures. The architecture of the mobile node is outlined. The survey procedure is based on a mapping phase, necessary to highlight the LoRaWAN coverage in the test area. Finally, a use case is described in the article: it is not intended for evaluating a specific implementation, but for assessing the suitability of the proposed methodology. The use case results demonstrate the effectiveness of the survey methodology in a real smart campus.