Ireland may soon enjoy greater benefits from the Internet of Things as the country prepares to construct a new IoT network.
The new low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) will be provided by Semtech Corporation, a semiconductor supplier. Dubbed Pervasive Nation, the network will incorporate Semtech’s LoRa devices and Wireless RF Technology and will span across the entire country.
The project has been commissioned by CONNECT, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Center for Future Networks and Communications, headquartered at the world-famous Trinity College Dublin. CONNECT will use the LoRaWAN network will be used to advance IoT applications, research and innovation.
A “robust” IoT network
“LoRaWAN network infrastructure gives maximum capacity, range and signal strength, while operating on low battery to ensure limited maintenance and operating expenses,” said Val Jelinic, program manager for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Product Group.
“The robust feature set of LoRa is ideal for a large scale network rollout like Pervasive Nation, which will enable the adoption of IoT in Ireland so residents, businesses and municipalities can implement more efficient, automated processes for a variety of applications, such as campus and infrastructure management, asset tracking, traffic monitoring, and more.”
LoRa Technology aims to improve day-to-day activities for both consumers and enterprises by automating processes ranging from public infrastructure to domestic applications. CONNECT’s Pervasive Nation will supposedly use it to improve things like campus management by monitoring the temperature in buildings and lighting control.
A new member of the LoRa Alliance
CONNECT’s reasons for choosing the Semtech LoRa Technology are many. Primarily its benefits include long-range capability and long battery lifetime for end-devices, but it also offers geolocation, deep signal penetrability, and adherence to the open, standardized LoRaWAN protocol, according to the company statement.
In terms of the network design and management, this is a collaborative effort by Davra Networks, a cloud-based software provider, OrbiWise, a leading provider of infrastructure solutions for IoT, and the CONNECT Centre at Trinity College Dublin, which will manage the program.
“The Pervasive Nation network combines LoRa’s robust feature set with OrbiWise’s flexible and cost-effective technology to enable IoT Research, innovation and education throughout Ireland,” said Professor Linda Doyle, director of CONNECT and professor of engineering and the arts at Trinity College Dublin. “By using the standardized LoRaWAN protocol, and being part of the LoRa Alliance, we aim to provide this national resource to individual researchers, educational institutes or businesses in order to shape the IoT future.”
Related: Scotland broadens IoT landscape with four LoRa projects