Today we want you to learn about LoRa technology, its main characteristics, advantages and disadvantages; as well as the uses of the LoRa System for GPS.

What is LoRa technology?

LoRa (Long Range) is one of the many wireless data transmission technologies that currently exist. 

It was designed with the aim of having low data transfer, maintaining low consumption and high coverage. 

The LoRa protocol is normally used in IoT (Internet of Things) applications, since due to its form of communication, it optimizes data transmission. 

Being a spread spectrum modulation technology, LoRa allows tolerance of noise, multiple signal paths and the Doppler effect. 

The LoRa System for GPS, has numerous applications and uses in multiple fields. These include shipment tracking, child, patient, asset, and pet tracking. 

Main features

LoRa technology has certain characteristics that make it special and differentiate it from other wireless protocols and technologies such as WiFi, LTE, Bluetooth, etc. 

Some of its main features are: 

• High sensitivity to receive data (-168dB) 
• High interference tolerance 
• Based on chirp modulation 
• Low consumption (up to 10 years with one battery) 
• Long range, 10 to 20 km 
• Low data transfer (up to 255 bytes) 
• Point to point connection 

• Working frequencies: 868 Mhz in Europe, 915 Mhz in America, and 433 Mhz in Asia 

Advantages of LoRa technology

Some of the advantages offered by this wireless technology are: 

• High tolerance to interference. Which is summed up in data transmission without interruptions. 
• It covers great distances with the signal, using a minimum energy consumption. What makes the autonomy of some systems reach high levels. 
• Low data transfer (up to 255 bytes). 

Disadvantages of this technology 

LoRa has certain drawbacks. Among them we can mention the following: 

• It does not allow telephone calls and sending of multimedia information. 
• Although it is possible to control things, such as turning on lights, it cannot be done instantly due to network latency. 
• Although the communication can be bidirectional, it is not recommended. 
• Regarding the size and frequency of Uplinks (process of sending data from the nodes to the Gateway) and Downlinks (opposite process), these must be precise, concise and as small as possible. 
• It is not feasible to transmit and receive data simultaneously. 
• LoRaWAN gateway coverage is advantageous in locations where gateways are installed. However, there is a problem where there are none. 

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Difference between LoRA and LoRAWan

LoRa is the physical layer or wireless modulation used to create long-distance communication links. 

For its part, LoraWan is a low power wide area network protocol. 

It is network architecture, created to correctly handle the information that arrives from the devices. 

 It was designed to interconnect battery-operated devices in the Internet of Things. 

LoraWan seeks to meet the following key IoT requirements: two-way communication, point-to-point security, mobility, and location services. 

As for the LoRa System for GPS, at the moment there are no devices with this technology. 

This is because they are still in the testing phase and others are assembled with cards, meaning, they are personalized. 

Even though LoRa technology is still being tested, it is one of the forms of data transmission that will undoubtedly dominate the market in the near future, due to its characteristics. 

For more information about the LoRa System for GPS, contact us.