Low Power Wide Area Networks Networks Research Articles

Innovative security and compression for constrained IoT networks

Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWAN) are a type of wireless communication technologies that enable efficient data transfer between low-power devices. This article explores the challenges of ensuring security in LPWANs and proposes a solution that combines two key mechanisms: Object Security for Constrained RESTful Environments (OSCORE) and Static Context Header Compression (SCHC). LPWANs are increasingly being used in Internet of Things (IoT) applications, but the features that endow these technologies with low power consumption and long range also make it necessary to adapt protocols and innovate in the approaches to achieve security while maintaining communications viable in technologies like these, in some cases with severe limitations. OSCORE provides end-to-end security for constrained devices, while SCHC enables efficient IP-based transmission over LPWANs. By combining these two protocols, the proposed solution aims to address the security and efficiency challenges of LPWANs, ensuring that IoT devices and data are protected from unauthorized access and manipulation. The article also presents experimental results demonstrating the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach using a real-life scenario, with industrial-grade hardware. The study concludes that the use of OSCORE and SCHC in LPWAN networks can significantly enhance the security and privacy of IoT devices.

Comparison of UNB-based LPWAN Networks

Internet of things (IoT) technology has been a hot research direction in recent years. Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) is an important part of IoT. It helps realize smart cities, guarantees logistics security, and food security. It has important applications in both industrial and agricultural fields. Ultra narrow band (UNB) are systems that have very high spectrum efficiency but with restricted communication rate. It has become a popular choice for LPWAN due to its high anti-interference ability and low energy consumption. Therefore, in recent years, many LPWANs based on UNB technology have been developed. This paper introduces UNB, LPWAN, and IOT technologies in detail, and explains how LPWAN and UNB are used in IoT technologies. Then three UNB-based LPWAN networks, Sigfox, Telensa, Weightless-N, are introduced. Finally, we will compare these three technologies in terms of system composition, performance and application to find out their advantages and disadvantages in different aspects.

IoTMapper: A Metrics Aggregation System Architecture in Support of Smart City Solutions.

Smart cities are, nowadays, an unavoidable and growing reality, supported on software platforms that support city management, through the processing and presentation of a large number of data, obtained from sensors used throughout the cities. Low-power wide area networks (LPWAN) leverage the sensorization process; however, urban landscape, in turn, induces a high probability of change in the propagation conditions of the LPWAN network, thus requiring active monitoring solutions for assessing the city LPWAN network condition. Currently existing solutions usually consider the existence of only one type of LPWAN network to be monitored. In this paper, an architecture for aggregation of metrics from heterogeneous LPWAN networks is presented. The architecture, named IoTMapper, combines purpose build components with existing components from the FIWARE and Apache Kafka ecosystems. Implementation details for the LPWAN networks are abstracted by adapters so that new networks may be easily added. The validation was carried out using real data collected for long-range wide-area network (LoRaWAN) in Lisbon, and a simulated data set extrapolated from the collected data. The results indicate that the presented architecture is a viable solution for metrics aggregation that may be expanded to support multiple networks. However, some of the considered FIWARE components present performance bottlenecks that may hinder the scaling of the architecture while processing new message arrivals.

Methodology for LoRa Gateway Placement Based on Bio-Inspired Algorithmsfor a Smart Campus in Wooded Area

The Internet of Things (IoT) device scenario has several emerging technologies. Among them, Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWANs) have proven to be efficient connections for smart devices. These devices communicate through gateways that exchange points with the central server. This study proposes an empirical and statistical methodology based on measurements carried out in a typical scenario of Amazonian cities composed of forests and buildings on the Campus of the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) to apply an adjustment to the coefficients in the UFPA propagation model. Furthermore, an Evolutionary Particle Swarm Optimization (EPSO) metaheuristic with multi-objective optimization was applied to maximize the coverage area and minimize the number of gateways to assist in the planning of a LoRa network. The results of simulations using the Monte Carlo method show that the EPSO-based gateway placement optimization methodology can be used to plan future LPWAN networks. As reception sensitivity is a decisive factor in the coverage area, with −108 dBm, the optimal solution determined the use of three gateways to cover the smart campus area.

A Systematic Review of LPWAN and Short-Range Network using AI to Enhance Internet of Things

Artificial intelligence (AI) has recently been used frequently, especially concerning the Internet of Things (IoT). However, IoT devices cannot work alone, assisted by Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) for long-distance communication and Short-Range Network for a short distance. However, few reviews about AI can help LPWAN and Short-Range Network. Therefore, the author took the opportunity to do this review. This study aims to review LPWAN and Short-Range Networks AI papers in systematically enhancing IoT performance. Reviews are also used to systematically maximize LPWAN systems and Short-Range networks to enhance IoT quality and discuss results that can be applied to a specific scope. The author utilizes selected reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA). The authors conducted a systematic review of all study results in support of the authors' objectives. Also, the authors identify development and related study opportunities. The author found 79 suitable papers in this systematic review, so a discussion of the presented papers was carried out. Several technologies are widely used, such as LPWAN in general, with several papers originating from China. Many reports from conferences last year and papers related to this matter were from 2020-2021. The study is expected to inspire experimental studies in finding relevant scientific papers and become another review.

A Communication Framework for Image Transmission through LPWAN Technology

Analyzing the conditions of use and selecting which technology is more efficient to apply is required when transmitting information through wireless networks.The Internet of Things (IoT) has gained traction in industry and academia as a paradigm in which information and communication technologies merge to deliver unique solutions by detecting, actuating, calculating, and sharing massive volumes of data via embedded systems. In this scenario, Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWAN) appear to be an attractive solution for node connectivity. Typical IoT solutions demand flexible restrictions for wireless communication networks in terms of data rates and latency in exchange for having larger communication ranges and low energy consumption. Nonetheless, as the amount of data and data speeds demanded for particular applications increase, such as image transmissions, IoT network connectivity deteriorates. This paper proposes a communication architecture for image transmission across LPWAN networks utilizing LoRa modulation. The framework combines image processing techniques (classification, compressive sensing (CS), and reconstruction) with an investigation of LoRa modulation parameters using a Software-Defined Radio (SDR) environment. The results show that is possible to communicate an image of 128×128 pixels with four packets and one frequency channel in 2.51 s.

A Secure Symmetric Key Synchronization Using Session Key Identifier Block Algorithm for LPWAN Networks

Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) have gained considerable importance with the usage and sustainable development of the Internet of Things (IoT). LPWANs have advantages; however, they have many limitations, including limited bandwidth, restricted payload size, and low power devices. Due to these limitations, LPWAN networks confront many challenges, like encrypting the data with the cypher chaining mode or implementing complex algorithms. Here, the cypher chaining mode cannot identify the next message if any packet has been lost because of the device's limited payload size and low memory. So, currently available algorithms cannot be used for LPWAN networks. Key is very important in cryptography; if an attacker compromises a secret key, it leads to a breach of the whole data. The best possible solution to prevent this breach is to frequently change the secret key. Here, we propose a novel algorithm to change the key for every message by synchronizing the sender's IoT device key. This system also proposes a Session Key Identifier Block (SKIB), implementing a session key for every message without any sequence number. The SKIB module identifies the session keys with the hash function and a shared secret key. The proposed work also compared the previous methods with experimental results.

LPWAN Networks for Energy Meters Reading and Monitoring Power Supply Network in Intelligent Buildings

In this paper the idea of functioning of Building Management Systems and Object Management Systems in intelligent buildings is presented. New functionalities of intelligent buildings resulting from the introduction of microgeneration are described. Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWAN) are characterized and compared. The selected Long-Range (LoRaWAN) technology is tested for its use for communication with energy meters and monitoring the power supply network in intelligent buildings. In the paper a new system for reading and monitoring the network is proposed, consisting of hardware, communication, and application layers. A key element of the system is a specially developed converter, which has been designed and tested in a real urban environment. Using our solution in practice could allow to change the architecture of a measurement data acquisition system to much more flexible and efficient.

Design and Realization of an UHF Frequency Reconfigurable Antenna for Hybrid Connectivity LPWAN and LEO Satellite Networks.

UHF satellite communication for Internet of Things (IoT) technology is rapidly emerging in monitoring applications as it offers the possibility of lower-costs and global coverage. At the present time, Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) solutions offer low power consumption, but still suffer from white zones. In this paper, the authors propose an UHF frequency reconfigurable Antenna for hybrid connectivity LoRaWAN (at 868 MHz) and UHF satellite communication (Tx at 401 MHz and Rx at 466 MHz) with the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Kineis constellation. The antenna is based on a meandered line structure loaded with lumped components and a PIN diode to control the antenna resonant frequencies. It resonates at 401 and 868 MHz when the PIN diode is forward-biased (ON state) and 466 MHz in reverse-biased configuration (OFF state). The antenna is designed inside the enclosure with the presence of all the parts of the connected device. The results of EM simulations and parametric studies on the values of the lumped components and the PIN diode equivalent model, which are obtained with HFSS, are presented. The antenna is prototyped and has dimensions of 78 mm × 88 mm × 1.6 mm. The paper proposes a fast and practical method to reduce time development and compensate the frequency shift between measurement and simulation.

Media independent solution for mobility management in heterogeneous LPWAN technologies

The integration of IoT communication technologies such as Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) is essential in today systems including supply chain, healthcare, autonomous vehicle, etc. In such environments there is an increase in IoT applications that require End Devices (EDs) mobility within similar or heterogeneous LPWAN technologies. Supporting mobility refers to ensure the delivery of data on demand and during movement. In this paper, we investigate the mobility of ED between different LPWAN technologies. We propose a new mobility management solution in LPWAN to achieve continuity of the communication after the link layer technology changes between the ED and the Application Server (AS). This solution is IPv6-based and supports switching between heterogeneous LPWAN networks and technologies. It results in reducing the time required to deliver the data by optimizing the communication routing and saving the bandwidth. The validation of the proposed solution is achieved through the scenarios of ED handovers between LoRaWAN and NB-IoT using simulations as well as experimentation.

A tractable stochastic geometry model of coverage and an approach to energy efficiency estimation in LPWAN networks

In this paper, we consider two types of low-power wide area network (LPWAN): LoRa wide area network (LoRaWAN) and narrow-band internet of things (NBIoT) network. We first propose a framework to calculate the average number of retransmissions in LoRaWAN networks and NBIoT networks based on stochastic geometry. Combining the average number of retransmissions, we give an approximate method to calculate both networks' energy efficiency and estimate the battery lifetime in LoRaWAN networks and NBIoT networks. The numerical results show that the battery lifetime is mainly influenced by the number of active UEs and the spreading factor in LoRaWAN networks and sleeping mode in NBIoT networks, when the data size transmitted each day is fixed. In NBIoT networks, the UEs can work for much longer with power saving mode (PSM) than with extended idle-mode discontinuous reception cycle (eDRX), even exceeding LoRaWAN networks in some cases.

A tractable stochastic geometry model of coverage and an approach to energy efficiency estimation in LPWAN networks

In this paper, we consider two types of low-power wide area network (LPWAN): LoRa wide area network (LoRaWAN) and narrow-band internet of things (NBIoT) network. We first propose a framework to calculate the average number of retransmissions in LoRaWAN networks and NBIoT networks based on stochastic geometry. Combining the average number of retransmissions, we give an approximate method to calculate both networks' energy efficiency and estimate the battery lifetime in LoRaWAN networks and NBIoT networks. The numerical results show that the battery lifetime is mainly influenced by the number of active UEs and the spreading factor in LoRaWAN networks and sleeping mode in NBIoT networks, when the data size transmitted each day is fixed. In NBIoT networks, the UEs can work for much longer with power saving mode (PSM) than with extended idle-mode discontinuous reception cycle (eDRX), even exceeding LoRaWAN networks in some cases.

Recovery of Incapacitated Commercial Delivery Drones Using LPWAN Technology

This paper proposes for the first time the use of an Internet of Things solution for the accurate recovery of incapacitated commercial and retail delivery drones. Since the use of drones will increase in popularity for a variety of uses, the problem of locating and recovering delivery drones is necessary. Using the emerging LoRaWAN and Sigfox networks (as examples of Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technology), we investigate the opportunity to locate and recover delivery drones that have crashed either due to technical issues or outside malign intervention. Location and recovery of a test drone using LoRa technology was trialed over three distinct terrains (urban, suburban, and rural) at five different sites in each terrain. These 15 trials evaluate ease of recovery on arrival at the crash site, accuracy of location coordinates given, and a subsequent analysis of the channel statistics for the LoRa network. The experiment was repeated using the Sigfox network as a comparison. The drone was able to be recovered at 14 of the 15 tests sites for both LoRa and Sigfox; in every case the drone's location was successfully transmitted to the secure server via the LPWAN networks. The paper investigates the reported location accuracy from the drone and also uses RMSE as an accuracy metric. The paper furthermore divulges lessons learned and presents a drone recovery algorithm.

A survey on low-power wide area networks for IoT applications

We are on the entry of the exponential advancement of the internet-of-things (IoT) due to the quick development of internet-connected smart-objects. As the number of connected smart-objects increase, IoT will continue to advance by providing connectivity and interactions between the physical and the cyber world. This connectivity is characterized by low throughput, delay sensitivity, small and wide coverage, low power consumption, low device, etc. Which explains the emergence of low power wide area network (LPWAN). LPWAN technologies are an alternative promising connectivity solutions for Internet of Things. However, the lack of an overall LPWAN knowledge that present a comprehensive analysis of LPWAN technologies is presently constraining the achievement of the modern IoT vision. In this paper, we begin with a detailed analysis of the conventional high power long-range network technologies that considers IoT applications and requirements. We further point out the need for dedicated low power wide area technologies in IoT systems. In addition, we analyse the technical specification based on the PHY and MAC layers of the technologies that are already deployed, or likely to be deployed. The focus is to incorporate both standard and proprietary technologies in our study. Furthermore, we present the modelling techniques and performance metrics that are adopted in LPWAN networks analysis. Finally, challenges and open problems are presented. The main contribution of this study is that it provides an enhanced summary of the current state-of-the-art of LPWAN suitable to meet the requirements of IoT, while uniquely providing LPWAN’s modelling techniques, performance metrics and their associated enablers.

Formal security analysis of LoRaWAN

Recent Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) protocols are receiving increased attention from industry and academia to offer accessibility for Internet of Things (IoT) connected remote sensors and actuators. In this work, we present a formal study of LoRaWAN security, an increasingly popular technology, which defines the structure and operation of LPWAN networks based on the LoRa physical layer. There are previously known security vulnerabilities in LoRaWAN that lead to the proposal of several improvements, some already incorporated into the latest protocol specification. Our analysis of LoRaWAN security uses Scyther, a formal security analysis tool and focuses on the key exchange portion of versions 1.0 (released in 2015) and 1.1 (the latest, released in 2017). For version 1.0, which is still the most widely deployed version of LoRaWAN, we show that our formal model allowed to uncover weaknesses that can be related to previously reported vulnerabilities. Our model did not find weaknesses in the latest version of the protocol (v1.1), and we discuss what this means in practice for the security of LoRaWAN as well as important aspects of our model and tools employed that should be considered. The Scyther model developed provides realistic models for LoRaWAN v1.0 and v1.1 that can be used and extended to formally analyze, inspect, and explore the security features of the protocols. This, in turn, can clarify the methodology for achieving secrecy, integrity, and authentication for designers and developers interested in these LPWAN standards. We believe that our model and discussion of the protocols security properties are beneficial for both researchers and practitioners. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that presents a formal security analysis of LoRaWAN.

Modelling the energy consumption for over-the-air software updates in LPWAN networks: SigFox, LoRa and IEEE 802.15.4g

The recent trend towards the use of low-power wide-area-networks (LPWAN) communication technologies in the Internet of Things such as SigFox, Lora and Weightless gives rise to promising applications in smart grids, smart city, smart logistics, etc. where tens of thousands of sensors in a large area are connected to a single gateway. However, to manage such a sheer number of deployed devices, solutions to provide over-the-air firmware updates are required. This paper analyses the feasibility of over-the-air (partial) software updates for three LPWAN technologies (LoRa, SigFox and IEEE-802.15.4g) and discusses the best suited update method for different scenarios: full system updates, application updates and network stack updates.The results indicate that full firmware upgrades consume a substantial amount of energy, especially for the lowest bit-rate LPWAN technologies such as SigFox which drains a single AA battery with 2% when performing a version update. However, technologies with a similar range (i.e. LoRa SF12) require only 0.12%. The trade-off between range and energy (or bit-rate) becomes clear when considering that the least sensitive technology (IEEE-802.15.4g-OFDM) consumes only 0.0001%. Partial updates require significantly less energy for all technologies. Adding a single application uses 6 to 38 times less energy compared to a firmware update, depending on the update method and LPWAN technology. Even partial network stack updates (i.e. MAC) cost 3 to 8 times less energy, making over-the-air updates feasible.

Evolving IoT networks by the confluence of MEC and LP-WAN paradigms

Novel technologies are emerging as promising enablers for future IoT networks. From the architecture organization perspective, a new trend of pushing both processing and storage capabilities closer to the end-devices is gaining momentum. Following this strategy, the Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) paradigm proposes to place intelligence at the Radio Access Network (RAN) edge, i.e., in between the RAN and the cloud. This approach permits reducing operational latencies, as well as the possibility of accessing useful information from the RAN in real-time. Another technology that is receiving great attention during the last times is Low Power — Wide Area Network (LP-WAN). Solutions based on this paradigm promise long coverage range of about 10 km and improved power efficiency that permits end-device’s lifetimes of about 10 years. Thus, in this work, both paradigms are deeply explored and its potential convergence is discussed. Furthermore, the results of experimental use-cases are presented. Concretely, a MEC node is integrated within an LP-WAN system with the aim of hosting several services: real-time physical layer management, IPv6 integration, storage offloading and data caching, and quick access to context-aware information from the end-nodes. The attained results show the validity of the proposed architecture, which gathers both novel paradigms: MEC technologies and LP-WAN networks.

По-ниска латентност в LPWAN МРЕЖИТЕ

The report compares LPWAN (low-power, wide-area network) and MEC (Multi-access edge computing) topologies, examines opportunities to achieve lower latency in LPWAN networks by integrating their architecture with the MEC paradigm. LPWAN networks are highly suitable to be combined with a MEC architecture. The radio-access equipment place,e.g., base station, gateway, etc., is a main location to run delay-sensitive applications, processing/storage offloading tasks, or hosting those services that need in real-time information from the RAN (Radio Access Network). For that reason, this places in the network has been identified as ideal for installing the MEC equipment.The four-tier architecture of LPWAN and MEC are kept, so they perfectly match with each other.

Sub-GHz LPWAN Network Coexistence, Management and Virtualization: An Overview and Open Research Challenges

The IoT domain is characterized by many applications that require low-bandwidth communications over a long range, at a low cost and at low power. Low power wide area networks (LPWANs) fulfill these requirements by using sub-GHz radio frequencies (typically 433 or 868 MHz) with typical transmission ranges in the order of 1 up to 50 km. As a result, a single base station can cover large areas and can support high numbers of connected devices (>1000 per base station). Notorious initiatives in this domain are LoRa, Sigfox and the upcoming IEEE 802.11ah (or HaLow) standard. Although these new technologies have the potential to significantly impact many IoT deployments, the current market is very fragmented and many challenges exists related to deployment, scalability, management and coexistence aspects, making adoption of these technologies difficult for many companies. To remedy this, this paper proposes a conceptual framework to improve the performance of LPWAN networks through in-network optimization, cross-technology coexistence and cooperation and virtualization of management functions. In addition, the paper gives an overview of state of the art solutions and identifies open challenges for each of these aspects.

Comparison of 6LoWPAN and LPWAN for the Internet of Things

By 2020, 50 billion devices (things) are expected to be connected to the Internet to form the Internet of Things (IoT) world. In general, two main categories of networks are used in the IoT: short-range and long-range low-power networks. IPv6 over low-power wireless personal area networks (6LoWPAN) are considered to be a crucial network in short-range low-power networks where 6LoWPAN motes will account for the majority of short-range low-power things. Also, LoRaWAN and SigFox are two major networking landscapes and players in long-range, low-power networks or oftentimes called low-power wide area networks (LPWAN). This paper reviews and compares 6LoWPAN and LPWAN in terms of network architecture, protocol stack, applications and security. In general, LPWAN networks are more demanding in terms of node and link constraints than 6LoWPAN networks (e.g. very low payload size, very low data rate and very limited resources). Also, as yet, LPWAN networks do not have IPv6 addressing capabilities. Each network category has its unique characteristics and strengths and each category has its important role in the IoT world.