LoRa Mobile-To-Base-Station Channel Characterization in the Antarctic
Antarctic conditions demand that wireless sensor nodes are operational all year round and that they provide a large communication range of several tens of kilometers. LoRa technology operating in sub-GHz frequency bands implements these wireless links with minimal power consumption. The employed chi...
| Published in: | Sensors |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/s17081903 https://doaj.org/article/1fc87801bbd0403da7685a62c1a65c9f |
| Summary: | Antarctic conditions demand that wireless sensor nodes are operational all year round and that they provide a large communication range of several tens of kilometers. LoRa technology operating in sub-GHz frequency bands implements these wireless links with minimal power consumption. The employed chirp spread spectrum modulation provides a large link budget, combined with the excellent radio-wave propagation characteristics in these bands. In this paper, an experimental wireless link from a mobile vehicle which transmits sensor data to a base station is measured and analyzed in terms of signal-to-noise ratio and packet loss. These measurements confirm the usefulness of LoRa technology for wireless sensor systems in polar regions. By deploying directional antennas at the base station, a range of up to 30 km is covered in case of Line-of-Sight radio propagation in both the 434 and 868 MHz bands. Varying terrain elevation is shown to be the dominating factor influencing the propagation, sometimes causing the Line-of-Sight path to be obstructed. Tropospheric radio propagation effects were not apparent in the measurements. |
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