The different applications of the Internet of Things is mind boggling. One such application is with wildlife management. Although using the IoT for wildlife management has been in practice since as far back as 2005, new forms of technology like LoRaWAN provides a very effective solution for large national park and wildlife reserve environments. LoRaWan stands for, “Long Range, Wide Area Network.” A LoRa-equipped tracking sensor is part of a comprehensive LoRaWAN-based IoT security solution that is deployed to show the location of animals within a wide space and allows security, conservationists and scientists to strategically observe and track animal populations.
A LoRaWAN IoT sensor can provide a number of benefits including:
- Long Range: A single base station using LoRa Technology enables deep penetration capability for dense urban environments and indoor coverage, while also providing the ability to connect to sensors more than 15-30 miles away in rural areas.
- Low Power: The LoRaWAN protocol was developed specifically for low power and enables unprecedented battery lifetime of up to 20 years depending on the application.
- Geolocation: Enables tracking applications without GPS or additional power consumption.
- Low Cost: LoRa Technology reduces up front infrastructure investments and operating costs, as well as end-node sensor costs.
- Open Standard: The LoRaWAN protocol ensures interoperability among applications, IoT solution providers and telecom operators to speed adoption and deployment.
Read the entire article at www.cio.co.ke to explore a case study on how LoRaWAN devices have been used to help save black rhino populations in Africa.
