Man
Professional
- Messages
- 3,081
- Reaction score
- 620
- Points
- 113
How a hybrid of Wi-Fi and LoRa is changing the perception of long-haul communications.
Scientists from various countries, including China, South Korea, the United States, and the United Kingdom, have developed a new technology that combines the capabilities of two popular communication protocols — Wi-Fi and LoRa. This hybrid system is called WiLo and is designed to enable longer-range and more energy-efficient data transmission, especially in the field of the Internet of Things (IoT).
Wi-Fi today is widely used for short-distance data transmission, but its limitations lie in its short range and high power consumption. On the other hand, the LoRa protocol, which has already proven itself in IoT networks, features extremely low energy consumption and the ability to transmit data over long distances, making it ideal for applications such as agriculture and smart cities.
WiLo technology combines both of these protocols to take the best of each: data transfer speed from Wi-Fi and range from LoRa. The main advantage of the new solution is that it does not require additional hardware changes or devices to combine Wi-Fi and LoRa systems, which simplifies the deployment process. As the developers explain, this reduces complexity, costs, and the number of potential points of failure in the system, making IoT networks more efficient and easily scalable.
The researchers conducted experiments using a standard LoRa transmitter model SX1280, which operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency band – the same as Wi-Fi. However, the two protocols cannot communicate directly because their signals are incompatible. To solve this problem, the team developed a special algorithm that changes the frequency of the Wi-Fi signal in such a way that it matches LoRa signals. This solution involves Wi-Fi Data Transmission Method (OFDM) manipulation to emit "chirp" LoRa signals, which are used for long-haul communications.
Tests have shown that the WiLo system works successfully both indoors (in the laboratory and corridors) and outdoors, providing a transmission range of up to 500 meters and a 96% success rate. This proves that the technology can be successfully applied to a wide range of tasks in IoT networks.
One of the main advantages of WiLo is the ability to use existing Wi-Fi devices, which eliminates the need for expensive equipment upgrades and significantly reduces the cost of implementing the technology. However, the developers also noted that the system requires additional power consumption, as Wi-Fi devices must simultaneously process signals and emulate the operation of LoRa, which increases the load on the device.
In the future, scientists plan to refine the technology to improve its energy efficiency, increase data transmission speed and resistance to interference. In addition, ensuring compliance with industry standards and integrating security mechanisms for data transfer between systems will be an important step.
Source
Scientists from various countries, including China, South Korea, the United States, and the United Kingdom, have developed a new technology that combines the capabilities of two popular communication protocols — Wi-Fi and LoRa. This hybrid system is called WiLo and is designed to enable longer-range and more energy-efficient data transmission, especially in the field of the Internet of Things (IoT).
Wi-Fi today is widely used for short-distance data transmission, but its limitations lie in its short range and high power consumption. On the other hand, the LoRa protocol, which has already proven itself in IoT networks, features extremely low energy consumption and the ability to transmit data over long distances, making it ideal for applications such as agriculture and smart cities.
WiLo technology combines both of these protocols to take the best of each: data transfer speed from Wi-Fi and range from LoRa. The main advantage of the new solution is that it does not require additional hardware changes or devices to combine Wi-Fi and LoRa systems, which simplifies the deployment process. As the developers explain, this reduces complexity, costs, and the number of potential points of failure in the system, making IoT networks more efficient and easily scalable.
The researchers conducted experiments using a standard LoRa transmitter model SX1280, which operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency band – the same as Wi-Fi. However, the two protocols cannot communicate directly because their signals are incompatible. To solve this problem, the team developed a special algorithm that changes the frequency of the Wi-Fi signal in such a way that it matches LoRa signals. This solution involves Wi-Fi Data Transmission Method (OFDM) manipulation to emit "chirp" LoRa signals, which are used for long-haul communications.
Tests have shown that the WiLo system works successfully both indoors (in the laboratory and corridors) and outdoors, providing a transmission range of up to 500 meters and a 96% success rate. This proves that the technology can be successfully applied to a wide range of tasks in IoT networks.
One of the main advantages of WiLo is the ability to use existing Wi-Fi devices, which eliminates the need for expensive equipment upgrades and significantly reduces the cost of implementing the technology. However, the developers also noted that the system requires additional power consumption, as Wi-Fi devices must simultaneously process signals and emulate the operation of LoRa, which increases the load on the device.
In the future, scientists plan to refine the technology to improve its energy efficiency, increase data transmission speed and resistance to interference. In addition, ensuring compliance with industry standards and integrating security mechanisms for data transfer between systems will be an important step.
Source
