Author: Ivo Frank

Anyone who is concerned with the Internet of Things (IoT) has probably come across the term LPWAN. But what is it and what are its advantages? In this article you will learn everything you need to know about LPWAN and its use cases.

What is LPWAN?

LPWAN, Low Power Wide Area Network, refers to technologies and network protocols that are used to network wireless devices. The technologies enable the transmission of small amounts of data over long distances with extremely low energy consumption. They are divided into licensed and non-licensed technologies.

Advantages of LPWAN technologies

Die Hauptvorteile der Technologie sind bereits im Namen enthalten: Low Power und Wide Area. Der geringe Energiebedarf erhöht die Batterielebensdauer der Geräte erheblich, so dass diese in der Regel über mehrere Jahre wartungsfrei betrieben werden können. Die hohe Reichweite ermöglicht die Verbindung von Geräten über mehrere Kilometer hinweg, was besonders in ländlichen und abgelegenen Gebieten von Vorteil ist. Damit verbunden ist eine hohe Durchdringung von Objekten und Materialien. Im Vergleich zu höherfrequenten Funktechnologien wie zum Beispiel Wi-Fi oder Bluetooth, durchdringen LPWAN Signale Hindernisse wie Wände und Gebäude sehr gut.

In addition to the low energy requirements and the high range, licence-free networks provide additional popularity. This is because they do not incur any licensing costs.

Den Vorteilen gegenüber stehen jedoch die niedrigen Datenraten, denn diese bewegen sich meistens in einem Bereich von wenigen 100 bit/s bis hin zu einigen 100 Kbit/s. Somit eignen sich die Technologien hauptsächlich für Anwendungsfälle, welche mit einer geringen Bandbreite auskommen.

What technologies and standards are there?

LoRaWAN

LoRaWAN stands for Long Range Wide Area Network and is a licence-free radio standard of the LoRa Alliance. The radio standard uses licence-free frequency bands, which can vary from country to country. In Europe and many other countries, the technology uses the 868 MHz or 433 MHz frequency bands, while in North America it uses the 915 MHz frequency band.

The networks can be built locally or globally and provide a secure and scalable infrastructure for IoT applications. The technology is supported by various manufacturers and service providers and is an important part of the growing IoT ecosystem.

NB-IoT

NB-IoT stands for Narrowband Internet of Things and is a radio standard for the Internet of Things (IoT). The standard uses existing mobile networks and has a very narrow bandwidth, which makes it very energy-efficient.

NB-IoT networks use existing LTE masts and antennas that are well developed. So, unlike LoRaWAN and Sigfox, using NB-IoT requires no investment in network infrastructure, regardless of where the devices are located in the world. This, in turn, allows manufacturers to develop internet-enabled devices that can connect right out of the box.

Sigfox

Sigfox is a French company that offers an eponymous licensed LPWAN network for the Internet of Things (IoT). Like other LPWAN technologies, Sigfox is specifically designed for the transmission of small amounts of data from IoT devices. For this purpose, the network uses the radio frequencies 868 MHz in Europe and 902 MHz in the USA. Sigfox is only approved by a few network operators per country. Thus, network coverage of Sigfox varies regionally and depends on the availability of Sigfox base stations. In addition, the transmission capacity of Sigfox is very limited. Only 140 messages with up to 12 bytes each can be sent or 8 bytes received per day.

Areas of application

LPWAN technologies are used almost everywhere where a wireless connection is needed, but the data transmission rate and data volume requirements are relatively small. In the area of smart cities, LPWAN networks can be used, for example, to monitor environmental conditions such as air quality and noise levels. The technologies are also suitable for monitoring car parks or waste containers.

Another area of application is Asset Tracking, dabei geht es um die Lokalisierung und Überwachung von beweglichen Objekten wie Fahrzeuge, Geräte oder Transportbehälter. Mit den drahtlosen Technologien können diese Objekte in Echtzeit verfolgt werden wodurch eine effizientere Lieferkette ermöglicht wird.

In agriculture, LPWAN networks can be used to monitor soil moisture, temperature and other parameters. This increases crop yields and reduces water consumption.

Weitere Anwendungsfälle könnten sein:

• Intelligent building and energy management
• Monitoring of supply and disposal systems
• System monitoring
• Supply chain management
• Intelligent traffic and transport management
• Health and medical applications
• Home automation and smart home solutions

Overall, LPWAN offers a cost-effective and practicable solution for networking devices and transmitting small amounts of data over longer distances. Although the data rates are limited compared to other technologies, they are sufficient for very many use cases and enable reliable and, above all, energy-saving networking.

In the construction industry, extensive inventories and the parallel handling of many projects are not uncommon. Maintaining an overview is a real challenge. In this article, we explain how you can simplify the administration process by digitizing your equipment management.

Construction project management and the associated logistics, i.e. getting equipment and goods to the right place at the right time, is a mammoth task. The many parallel project locations and a large number of changing players provide many sources of error in the exchange of information. It is therefore not uncommon for equipment and goods to be unused and available in excessive quantities at project sites, while they are urgently needed elsewhere. In addition, project sites often exchange equipment among themselves without having passed through a central warehouse beforehand. It is almost impossible to maintain an overview. This in turn leads to unproductive time and significantly increases search times. In the worst case, costs are even incurred for the superfluous acquisition of new equipment or new purchases due to losses.

Digitize device management through tracking

Device management in construction is a big lever for efficiency and effectiveness in construction. IoT devices operate this very lever. By equipping equipment with trackers and equipping warehouses and construction sites with gateways, construction companies obtain digital inventories. On the one hand, the software makes it possible to see which devices or goods are in the warehouses at the current time, which devices are at which construction site, or where a device is currently located. This also makes it possible to track the relocation of equipment between projects.

Time saving thanks to live inventory

Digitizing equipment management optimizes the logistics process in the construction industry on various levels. On the one hand, this actively reduces search times, because the location of a piece of equipment can be found out with just a few clicks. This makes time-consuming phone calls or even searches a thing of the past. On the other hand, it significantly reduces non-productive time, thanks to the faster provision of equipment.

Automated prescription on projects

The time savings are also noticeable in administration. The tracking system posts devices to the corresponding projects completely automatically. This significantly reduces the administrative effort and prevents incorrect bookings.

Reduction of the inventory according to demand

Acceleration and climate sensors installed in the trackers provide information about the utilization of equipment. In this way, historical data can be used to avoid superfluous new purchases or even to optimize the equipment fleet according to need on the basis of the data.

Conclusion

It has long been clear that digitization is not a trend, but a task that will take a lot of work off our hands in the future in our private and, above all, our business lives. It goes without saying that the integration of IoT systems and trackers involves investments. But those who take the step will quickly realize the enormous added value that digital helpers can deliver. Because information can be retrieved with just a few clicks, automated processes in the background and the considerable acceleration of communication ensure that device management is only a secondary matter.

Logistics is one of the largest and most dynamic industries and therefore also one of the industries that benefits most from digitalization through IoT solutions. But in which areas are IoT solutions used and which solutions are available? Find out in this article.

Logistics, i.e. the planning, coordination and control of the flow of products, raw materials and information, is indispensable for the economy. In Germany alone, the logistics industry turned over around 279 billion euros in 2020 (source: Statista - Sales of the logistics industry in Germany), making it one of the three largest industries in Germany. Hardly any other industry holds more potential for the use of intelligent solutions, because countless process data are generated along a supply chain. In other words, there are countless opportunities to network processes and optimize operations.

But why is the digitization of logistics so important?

The logistics industry has been on a growth course for years, with Corona playing a major role in the industry's 26.5% growth in 2020. Further growth is also expected in the coming years thanks to e-commerce. The increased volume requires companies to work ever more efficiently. This in turn requires transparent processes, because efficiency depends heavily on the clarity and networking of a supply chain. There are numerous advantages that networked supply chains bring with them:

• Cost savings: The avoidance of unnecessary transport, optimization of delivery routes and better capacity utilization ensure cost savings. In addition, inventories can be optimized and the associated costs reduced.
• Increased speed: One of the most significant advantages of digital logistics is speed, which can be significantly increased through full networking. Digital solutions collect data, evaluate it and deliver optimized results for storage or transport.
• Reduction of error-proneness: Digitization replaces paper and analog planning charts. This reduces sources of error and processes can be called up digitally at any time.
• Environmental protection: Digital assistants report optimal routes as well as suggestions for improving the driver's driving style.

What are the options?

IoT systems can add value to logistics processes in a wide variety of places. In the area of freight, for example, goods are networked with trackers or beacons. This prevents loss or damage to the goods and provides transparency along the entire supply chain. Trackers can provide great added value, especially in the area of food logistics. The continuous recording of temperature and humidity by means of sensors fulfills fully automated documentation requirements for temperature-controlled transports. At the same time, the trackers ensure the safety of the food.

The IoT also makes everyday life easier in transport vehicles. Here, data on the status of vehicles can be used to maintain them in advance (predictive maintenance). This saves costs and, above all, time-consuming breakdowns.

Not least in the area of order picking, IoT systems speed up processes. Here, for example, pick-by-light systems ensure higher speeds by providing visual signals to indicate the correct compartment to the pickers. More comprehensive systems also indicate the correct number of items.

The possibilities are many and the ever-increasing volume of goods to be processed requires the logistics company to work ever more efficiently, because outdated technologies and processes are no longer competitive.