LoRaWAN Geolocation: A new service for monitoring the position and movement of objects anywhere in the Czech Republic
Do you need to know where your goods, cars, machines, containers, boxes, carts, or animals or people are currently located, or where your freshly logged wood is heading from the forest? Geolocation using the CRA IoT LoRaWAN network will easily find that out for you.
LoRaWAN Geolocation: A new service for monitoring the position and movement of objects anywhere in the Czech Republic
Do you need to know where your goods, cars, machines, containers, boxes, carts, or animals or people are currently located, or where your freshly logged wood is heading from the forest? Geolocation using the CRA IoT LoRaWAN network will easily find that out for you. Whether they are out in the field or in a building, sitting or in motion. The objects being monitored do not require their own source of energy and do not even know that they are being monitored.
What is geolocation?
Geolocation means the identification of a geographic position of an object. Several methods and technologies are used, which differ in terms of their precision, area of use, and costs of implementation. Geolocation using a LoRaWAN CRA network will provide perfect precision and practically universal use at minimal costs. As an add-on to the CRA IoT LoRaWAN network, it is free for users.
How does geolocation in the LoRaWAN network work?
To calculate the position of an object, its distance from at least three points whose position is known in advance must be ascertained as precisely as possible. In the LoRaWAN network, such reference points are network gateways known as LoRaWAN Gateways. Each gateway is fitted with a GPS module that provides, among other things, precise temporal data. The network or the device does not require any special adaptation or supplementation; the calculation of distance is made on the basis of a standard communication between the gateways and the object. Geolocation in the LoRaWAN network uses two methods for calculating distance, for which the abbreviations TDoA and RSSI are used. They can be deployed separately or together for greater accuracy. Measurement using the TDoA method is available in all larger cities of the Czech Republic. Position calculation is done on CRA IoT Cloud, to which gateways send the data measures. The measurement, including the calculation, takes approximately 30 seconds. LoRaWAN geolocation can be combined with other technologies, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or GPS.
The TDoA method (Time Difference of Arrival) calculates distance from the time it takes for signal to travel from a device placed on an object to several gateways. The accuracy of the measurement is in the order of dozens of meters. The method is resistant to attenuation linked to the passage of signal through materials, which makes it good to use for determining position inside buildings, as well.
The RSSI method (Received Signal Strength Indication) works with the fact that the farther an object is from a gateway, the weaker the signal received. The RSSI is more sensitive to signal reflection and attenuation caused by various obstacles, such as buildings. It is less accurate and is suitable primarily for localisation in open terrain. Its advantage is that the method is available throughout the Czech Republic. The measurement accuracy depends on the ruggedness of the landscape and ranges from hundreds of metres to several kilometres. Localisation accuracy can be increased by combining the two methods.
Universal, affordable, energy-efficient, and safe
Compared to other widespread methods, there are several advantages of geolocation in LoRaWAN networks. Above all, no additional equipment or devices need to be purchased and no changes in the network are required, as any device connected to the CRA LoRaWAN network can be localised. Unlike the Sigfox technology, whose accuracy is in the order of kilometres, and it cannot be used for a device in motion, the accuracy of LoRaWAN is tens of metres in cities and hundreds of metres outside of cities. It works reliably even inside buildings, and it can be used to monitor the position of moving objects. It covers more than 90% of the territory of the Czech Republic. Unlike, for example, GPS devices, whose price is, furthermore, disproportionately higher, LoRaWAN devices have extremely low power consumption and a lifetime of several years. LoRaWAN geolocation is very safe, as standard messages do not carry any information about the location of the object monitored, and the measurement methods used do not have any access to the content of the messages.
Broad range of use
It is probably not necessary to go into much detail about where universal geolocation could be used. It can find application any time the position of an object must be known, or information must be had about an object’s movement or route. Whether it is in logistics and transport, the monitoring of working machines and equipment, monitoring of persons, localisation of animals or their monitoring, protection of unguarded property, such as logged timber in a forest, or for the visualisation of objects in maps. Also, the guarding of the movement of an object within a certain territory is available, known as geofencing. And certainly, further areas of use will be found.
See for yourself
Geolocation is available free of charge to CRA clients using the LoRaWAN network, and they can set it up immediately at CRA’s IoT portal. Those who are not yet using the CRA IoT LoRaWAN network can try its services free of charge on the portal beconnected.cz.