A Model for a Dense LoRaWAN Network in the Agribusiness

In this work the modeling, simulation, and first experimental measurements of a LoRaWAN network for the agrifood industry is presented. Firstly, the network is modeled for a farm of the future with as many sensors as would be useful, for the 4 main productive chains in Uruguay: livestock, timber, agriculture, and dairy industries. To this end, a survey of commercial sensors was carried out, a few farms were visited, and managers and partners in agro-companies were interviewed. A LoRaWAN network with a single Gateway was simulated to estimate the efficiency (related to data-packets lost), for example in the case of a 1,000-ha cattle field with more than 1,500 sensors and some cameras sharing the network. Finally, the efficiency was measured, using 40 LoRa modules @915MHz, transmitting pseudo-random to emulate up to thousands of LoRa sensors. The simulated and measured results are very similar, reaching >92% efficiency in all cases. Additionally, energy consumption and transmission distance measurements of the Lora modules are presented to corroborate they fit the requirements of IoT in agribusiness.