On the feasibility of mobile sensing and tracking applications based on LPWAN

The emerging Internet of Things paradigm is based on smart objects that, exploiting ubiquitous interconnectivity, will be able to interact with the surrounding environment paving the way to innovative services. Wireless links are a must and in the recent past we saw the larger and larger diffusion of novel Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technologies, implementing one-hop topology. The typical application scenario is smart metering in smart city applications, where fixed devices send readings sporadically over a long distance to a data concentrator. In particular, the LoRaWAN solution has been widely accepted by both the industrial and the academic worlds. In this paper, authors evaluate performance of a real world LoRaWAN application in a large area (several km
²
), considering node mobility as well. Results confirm the capability of LoRaWAN to cope with low speed applications. Moreover, the purposely designed experiments evaluate delays in receiving updates from mobile nodes in an urban scenario. Short reaction time enables new services as people (children) and assets tracking during crowded events.