Performance evaluation of LoRa LPWAN technology for mountain Search and Rescue

Search and Rescue (SaR) operations in mountain environments are common events. Current transceivers, especially for avalanche SaR (ARVA, RECCO
^r
), suffer from a limited range, slowing the operations. The emerging Low-Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technology is very promising thanks to its extended range and to the low power consumption. LoRa (Long Range) is one of the most popular LPWAN. In this paper, we experimentally evaluate the effectiveness of LoRa for mountain SaR by testing in a test environment three useful characteristics: range, battery life and communication link robustness to shadowing. Then we compare LoRa results with those of standard Wireless Local Area Networks (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi) and those of current avalanche beacons. LoRa outperforms the considered technology and is viable for SaR applications.