Development of LoRa-Sigfox IoT device for long distance applications

A key feature that is required from the IoT-enabled devices is low power and long-range communication. In this paper, a prototype IoT device that is enabled with LoRa and Sigfox communication technology is developed and tested. The prototype device is built using the Pycom Fipy module and tested in a LoRaWAN setup and Sigfox setup. A test was conducted to determine the performance of the LoRa propagation in different environments and at different times of the day. The experimental data shows the coverage and diurnal performance using the IoT device. A distance of 1.17km was achieved in the open space using the LoRa while the propagation was highly impacted in the vegetation area with a distance of.512 km. The test for the Sigfox showed good coverage over a distance of 10 km. The results show the device can be used for both LoRa and Sigfox coverage test

Decision support platform for production of chili using IoT, cloud computing, and machine learning approach

The chili crop is largely grown in several regions of the world, especially in Asian and African countries. It is a major source of income for both small- and large-scale farmers. Unfortunately, chili farmers have to contend with the challenge of pests and diseases and the need for timely decisions to have a bountiful production. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a chili-decision support platform (chili-DSP) that can help farmers detect diseases, and nutrient deficiency and make timely decisions. The proposed system integrates the internet of things, cloud computing, and data analytics technologies. The framework and architecture of the proposed chili-DSP are presented in this paper and the preliminary results using the convolutional neural network (CNN) for the classification of chili are presented. The result shows that CNN provides an accurate prediction of the learned data set and can be extended to larger data set for real-time classification of chili diseases. The chili-DSP is expected to provide a comprehensive feature and support that will help the chili farmers enhance the production of chili while minimizing losses