LoRaONE is a new development board designed for makers and hackers who loves to connect things and makes the Internet of Things open to everyone.
In the DIY area exists a wide range of development boards with built-in wireless capabilities and affordable price. All of them uses the currently available wireless networks like Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, WiFi, cellular networks and ZigBee to connect devices, sensors, gadgets and more. But not all these wireless technologies are suitable for long range application, and even if are acceptable for long range application, these are very expensive at least for the DIY community.
So, for most of us in the DIY area, is there any other inexpensive technology to transmit tiny bits of data for IoT applications?
Yes, we have the chance to connect devices cheaply and send data over a long range with very low power consumption. The answer is a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN).
So, why to use LoRaONE?
Table of Contents
Toggle1. LoRaWAN
LoRa (Long Range) is a modular technique that provides considerably long-range communication compared with other technologies. The LoRa wireless technology works indoors and outdoors and is easy to set up.
The LoRa modulation is the physical layer of LoRaWAN targeting the basic needs of IoT such as localization services, mobility, and bi-directional communication. Regarding the range of the wireless technology, a single LoRaWAN Gateway covers more than 10 Km (6.2 miles) in range.
2. Built-in Sensors
The development board has built-in GPS and accelerometer/magnetometer sensors, so you can track the location, movement, and detect magnetic fields of your project. It also features 14 I/O pins to connect other sensors or devices.
The GPS sensor is a u-blox EVA 7M designed to use less power than many of the GPS sensors available on the market. The accelerometer/magnetometer sensor is an LSM303D, which combines a digital 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis magnetometer into a single package.
3. Arduino Compatible Board
LoRaONE is compatible with Arduino M0 and the Arduino IDE. So, in some aspects, some of the LoRaONE’s features should be familiar for you.
4. It Can Work On Solar Energy
You need a battery to supply the board, and also to charge it separately using a battery charger. But you can feed the board for unlimited time using only a 500mW solar panel. This is a pretty cool feature if you don’t want to worry about batteries.
As a conclusion, LoRaONE is a strong alternative to Arduino MKR1000, Particle Photon, and many other boards that make connecting things to the cloud a breeze.
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(Image credits: Kickstarter.com)