Investigating solutions for end-to-end LoRaWAN communication in critical industrial applications

Abstract

Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) are a useful technology within the context of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), enabling communication with end devices such as sensors and intelligent actuators in wide areas, such as a factory, urban or rural area. Among LPWANs, LoRaWAN technology is the most promising. However, despite being an excellent choice for IIoT scenarios and remote monitoring applications in Industry 4.0 (I4.0), LoRaWAN presents some restrictions that impact its scalability and reliability. The difficulty of transmitting IP packets due to the high communication overhead hinders bidirectional end-to-end communication between the LoRaWAN end device and the user application or another end device, whether it is LoRaWAN or not. Additionally, the high latency and probability of data transmission failure make this technology unsuitable for critical applications, i.e., applications that require low latency and highreliability in information delivery, such as measuring water levels in dams or boiler temperature in factories. In response to this demand, this project aims to investigate and develop solutions that overcome these problems. To achieve this, it is proposed to investigate IPv6 header compression and packet fragmentation as a solution for LoRaWAN end-to-end communication, virtualization of LoRaWAN devices for redundant communication and increased reliability, and optimization of LoRaWAN data rate (ADR) for reduced communication latency. As a result, the joint development of these solutions will enable end-to-end LoRaWAN communication in critical industrial applications, expanding its range of potential applications in IIoT and I4.0. (AU)