Performance Evaluation of Long Range (LoRa) Wireless RF Technology blue for the Internet of Things (IoT) Using Dragino LoRa at 915 MHz

Internet of Things (IoT) is a developing concept that introduces the network of physical sensors which are interconnected to each other. Some sensors are wirelessly connected among themselves and to the internet. Currently, IoT applications demand substantial requirements in terms of Radio Access Network (RAN) such as long-range outdoor coverage, environmental factors, obstructions, interference, power consumption, and many others. Also, the current wireless technologies are not able to satisfy all these requirements simultaneously. Therefore, there is no single wireless standard that would predominate the IoT. However, one relevant wireless radio solution to IoT is known as Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), which is one of the Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technologies. LPWAN has appeared as a significant solution to offer advantages such as long-range coverage connectivity with low power consumption, an unlicensed spectrum, and affordability. Most likely LoRa with the inherent long-range coverage and low power consumption features will become the “go-to” technology for IoT applications. For that reason, the proposed research entails the performance evaluation of LoRa IoT application under different scenarios at the University of the North Florida campus. Each scenario includes dynamic and static tests that focus on performance evaluation of the LoRaWAN physical-layer, such as different configurations, coverage range, strength and quality indicators (RSSI and SNR respectively), test schedules, and environmental factors. This application will involve connecting to different IoT servers in the cloud, such as The Things Network (TTN), Amazon Web Services (AWS), integration with Cayenne

Performance Analysis of Indoor Optical Wireless Links

Indoor wireless optical communication is a good alternative to existing mature RF technology. However various challenges in indoor optical wireless technology are due to free space loss, ambient light, and multi path dispersion causing inter symbol interference (ISI). The degradation in performance due to these facts is very much influenced by the channel topology. So in this paper the performance of indoor optical configuration has been analyzed using three types of channel topologies viz., directed (LOS), non-directed (LOS), and multi beam diffused link for various transmitter and receiver design parameters. The analysis has been carried using Optiwave simulation tools

Free space optical communication

This book provides an in-depth understanding of free space optical (FSO) communication with a particular emphasis on optical beam propagation through atmospheric turbulence. The book is structured in such a way that it provides a basic framework for the beginners and also gives a concise description from a designer’s perspective. The book provides an exposure to FSO technology, fundamental limitations, design methodologies, system trade-offs, acquisition, tracking and pointing (ATP) techniques and link-feasibility analysis. The contents of this book will be of interest to professionals and researchers alike. The book may also be used as a textbook for engineering coursework and professional training

Safe Route: A Mobile App-Based Intelligent and Personalized Fire Evacuation System

Project of Merit Winner All modern buildings have fire evacuation protocols, the most common of which are exit signs to the nearest exit. However, these simple protocols ignore the possibility of unsafe paths and unexpected fire hazards. The goal during fire evacuations is to escape safely and efficiently, but this can be difficult without knowing which routes are safest. A mobile application called Safe Route was created at the University of North Florida (UNF) to provide building occupants with a personalized fire evacuation route helping them to efficiently navigate to the safest exit. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons were utilized for the indoor positioning system (IPS) and the network topology that includes a Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) infrastructure. A graph network of routes and nodes was designed based upon the provided floor plan of Building 4 at UNF and linked with a routing algorithm to determine the safest route. A safety score was calculated based upon a variety of parameters including temperature, fire growth rate, and carbon dioxide concentration, among others. Dijkstra’s algorithm was then implemented to determine the evacuation route with the best total safety score. Recent tests of Safe Route suggest that evacuation route optimization is effective, and the navigation assistance is accurate. The IPS is still in development to ensure its robustness, and future researchers could continue to improve the associated IPS algorithm. Researchers could also consider commercializing Safe Route or making it open-source for use in fire evacuations anywhere in the world