An Improved Adaptive Data Rate for LoRaWAN Networks

Currently, LoRaWAN employs the use of an adaptive data rate (ADR), which aims to provide reliable and battery-efficient communication by managing the spreading factor (SF) and transmit power. However, the variable channel conditions severely affect the performance of ADR, resulting in massive packet loss. In this paper, we propose an improved ADR (I-ADR), which allocates SFs to end devices based on the received signal strength at the gateway during the initial deployment. The I-ADR algorithm is evaluated in both confirmed and unconfirmed modes under the urban environment. Simulation results show that I-ADR performs better in terms of success ratio by lowering the impact of interference than the typical ADR.