LoRa™ Lab: Laboratory Network for Educational Purposes

The Internet of Things describes scenarios in which Internet connectivity and computing capabilities are extended to everyday objects. Those devices have limited computational power and are often battery-powered or energy-harvesting. Many communication technologies specifically designed for the Internet of Things environment have emerged. Low-Power Wide-Area networks are popular as they provide a long communication range and are energy efficient. Despite many advantages, the Internet of Things faces several challenges, which need to be addressed shortly. To provide research opportunities and additional training, it is important to have a dedicated network, which is flexible enough, and thus allows modifications and network stack manipulation. In this paper, the Low-Power Wide-Area Networks are explored, with the main focus on LoRa
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technology. Next, current research performed at the Faculty of Informatics and Information Technologies is presented. And finally, a private LoRa
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laboratory network is described in detail.