Development of LoRa-Sigfox IoT Device for Long Distance Applications

A key feature that is required from the IoT-enabled devices is low power and long-range communication. In this paper, a prototype IoT device that is enabled with LoRa and Sigfox communication technology is developed and tested. The prototype device is built using the Pycom Fipy module and tested in a LoRaWAN setup and Sigfox setup. A test was conducted to determine the performance of the LoRa propagation in different environments and at different times of the day. The experimental data shows the coverage and diurnal performance using the IoT device. A distance of 1.17km was achieved in the open space using the LoRa while the propagation was highly impacted in the vegetation area with a distance of .512 km. The test for the Sigfox showed good coverage over a distance of 10 km. The results show the device can be used for both LoRa and Sigfox coverage test.