Suitability of LoRaWAN and solar harvesting in IoT-ready fall detection solutions for light mobility

Multimodal mobility is an emerging concept and transportation by means of light mobility represents a common transportation means not only for leisure but also as an alternative to public transportation and private cars in order to avoid traffic congestion. Standard bikes are the majority of light vehicles on the planet; however, by their nature, they are not equipped with any electronic device capable of monitoring the state of the driver and providing alarms in the case of incidents like falls, thefts, and vandalism on vehicles when left unattended. Internet of Things (IoT) devices can provide a plausible solution to this problem; however, to be practical, they should not alter user habits and impact vehicle usability or availability, requiring long recharge time or being inaccessible if not properly recharged. For this reason, in this paper, an IoT-based solution for fall detection to be used on light vehicles and, in particular, bicycles is described. In order to reach the goals of high availability the proposed solution exploits the use of LoRaWAN technology and energy harvesting from a small solar panel. Experimental tests on power consumption and LoRaWAN communication timing performance have been carried out in order. Results demonstrate the benefits this technology and the impact of solar harvesting for the proposed solution.