LoRa-Arduino quickstart project

Overview

###This project allows you to quickly try LoRa communications.

Duration: This is a 3-hour project

LoRa is an exciting new technology for communicating at Long Range, low power, and low cost. This project uses an Arduino Mega and a Multitech mDot LoRa node to send data to the Senet LoRa network. Senet has deployed gateways to receive the LoRa signal in select regions of the United States; Zapier and Google Spreadsheets provide the rest of the software.

This project was developed by the Orange IoT Studio to promote the adoption of LoRa. To that end, the IoT Studio is supporting companies interested in LoRa by providing developer resources, donating hardware kits and by funding co-development.

Data flow diagram

LoRa is great for IoT

LoRa is an ideal communications technology for many internet-of-things (IoT) devices because internet connectivity is a key feature of IoT while also one of IoT devices' the biggest pain points. Specifically, pairing devices with WiFi is tedious and cellular connectivity is expensive and power intensive; both technologies are designed to transmit megabytes (MB) of data. That's where LoRa comes in. For simple IoT devices that only need to send kilobytes (KB) of data or less, LoRa is an ideal solution.

Public LoRa networks are being deployed world wide, including by Orange in France. This project uses the Senet LoRa network in North America since it was developed by the Orange IoT Studio, part of Orange Silicon Valley in San Francisco.

Project overview

1. Get the hardware
2. Create your accounts
3. Verify LoRa coverage
4. Configure the software
5. Assemble the hardware
6. Test drive LoRa
7. Build on LoRa & promote your vision

Skills you need

• Basic programming experience
• Familiarity with Arduino

Nomeclature

Since this project is at the cutting-edge of LoRa, many of the terms are new, so we've defined them here:

• Network_ID is the term used in the Arduino sketch that is your specific account ID with Senet. It's also referred to as Application, Application ID, APPEUI and reverse_APPEUI.
• ID number is the term used in the Arduino sketch that is the ID number for your device on the Senet network. For mDot's, it's the ID number written on the device; for Semtech NorAm motes, it's the ID number you get from the Orange IoT Studio or you generate in ARM mbed. It's also referred to as Device ID, DEVEUI and reverse_DEVEUI.
• Network_key is the term used in the Arduino sketch that is the encoded key for your device on the Senet network. It's also referred to as Device App Key, App Key and DEVKEY.
• mDot is the Low-Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) RF module, capable of 2-way communication in excess of 10 miles or 16 km. It's also referred to as Multitech mDot, MultiConnect mDot, MTdot and LoRa mDot.
• mote is a LoRa network testing device that includes a GPS receiver. In this tutorial, you'll use it to test the coverage of the Senet network in your area. It's also referred to as North America LoRa Mote device, NoRam mote and Semtech NorAm mote LoRa network tester.
• Gateway is the term used for the device that routes communications between the mDot and Senet's cloud. It's also referred to as LoRa Gateway.
• PDU stands for Packet Data Unit, which is the term Senet uses for the data payload sent from the mDot to the gateway.

Disclaimer

LoRa is a new technology and this project is in alpha, so it could break. If you're comfortable trying new things that aren't 100% reliable, proceed and have fun.

Acknolwedgements

Mike Vladimer & Anna Aflalo developed this project at the Orange IoT Studio, part of Orange Silicon Valley. We welcome feedback -- you can contact us via twitter: @mikevladimer & @anna_aflalo.

Thank you for allowing us to use your icons: @Ale Estrada, @Icon 54, @Gregory Sujkowski, @Uizin, @Chameleon Design, @Igor Strosin.

A hat tip 🎩 and thanks to Dave Kjendal & Shaun Nelson from Senet; Joe Knapp from Semtech; Georges Nahon, Gabriel Sidhom, Scott Dworkis & Jeremy Huylebroeck from Orange Silicon Valley.

April 2016

Start the tutorial

1.Get the hardware