A Dictionary Based Protocol over LoRa (Long Range) Technology for Applications in Internet of Things

Internet of the things (IoT) is a new scenario that aims to integrate into the global network “things” or devices such as sensors or embedded electronics equipment, sharing information and enabling interaction with them from anywhere. A very important aspect in IoT applications is the communication protocols used by sensors for sending and exchange information. Traditional protocols used so far do not have the scope and ability to manage a growing up computational elements used in modern IoT applications. New communications schemes based on spread spectrum and Long Range (LoRa) coverage, offer new horizons for design and implement low power and long-range sensor networks. In this paper, we describe a new, robust and lightweight communication protocol implemented over the physical layer of LoRa, providing effectiveness and low power consumption suitable for IoT applications. A coverage analysis in both urban and rural environments confirms the success in the selection of this technology and opens new challenges for developing useful applications in several domains as for example smart cities, smart-health, smart factory, remote monitoring, precision agriculture, energy management and remote monitoring and control.