Feasibility Study of the LoRaWAN blind Adaptive Data Rate

LoRaWAN is widely adopted as an alternate solution for the Internet of Things applications due to its long-range, low-cost, ultra-low energy consumption and support for a large number of end devices (EDs). To allocate resources to EDs, LoRaWAN utilizes an energy-efficient adaptive data rate (ADR), which is recommended for static applications. Recently, Semtech suggests using a blind ADR (BADR) to increase geographical coverage with enhanced battery life for mobile applications, such as pet-tracking. The BADR utilizes three spreading factors (SFs): SF 12 (one time), SF 10 (twice), and SF 7 (three times) every hour. This study aims to analyze and provide insights into the potential and limits of the BADR. Simulation results show that both ADRs suffer from high packet loss and excessive energy consumption in confirmed and unconfirmed modes. However, BADR is observed outperforming the ADR.