In battling the Coronavirus, and all other diseases for that matter, the LoRa technology and the LoRaWAN protocol in particular can be used for a base for developing solutions to strengthen the humanity’s defense against this pandemic.
LoRaWAN can be of great help in every aspect of our lives, why not healthcare as well? Let us see a few use cases, small things that make a big difference. Medical Gas Valve Monitoring Medical Gas Valves are responsible for the much needed oxygen supplies in the fight with the Coronaviruses. As its name suggests, the valve controls the flow of oxygen by either turning it on or off. By incorporating LoRa to this, the medical gas valves attached with smart digital pressure gauges for monitoring and data transmission become wireless controlled assets. Medical professionals are now able to monitor and control the oxygen flow to the patient, while collect and analyse data. At the same time, notifications are sent when the oxygen cylinders need replacement and can prevent shortages caused by bad management. Asset Temperature Monitoring and Tracking One crucial part of vaccine, blood, and sample transportation and preserving is the temperature. Guaranteeing that vaccines will not spoil, maintaining a certain temperature at all times is a must. Therefore, more and more solutions in this direction are made. LoRaWAN Starter Kit to collect, store, and transmit the data from sensor and tracking systems installed to assist in monitoring the location and temperature levels of the storage spaces. As a result, the risk of goods and samples going to waste is minimized. Infection Risk Reduction in Hospitals The place that treats Covid-19 patients is the most high-risk place of all. As the Coronavirus spreads, keeping hospitals free from spread of infection may be done through implementing LoRaWAN solutions. Occupancy and feedback monitors, bed occupancy monitors, asset tracking, air quality, and water monitoring are small but effective tools in controlling the spread of the virus. Infrared Temperature Sensors Instead of the individual checking of temperature that takes time and requires personal contact, a smarter and safer solution is possible. Infrared temperature sensors with integrated LoRa Gateway functionality are already being manufactured and distributed around the world. A simple add-on that improves on this procedure through thermal sensors that immediately distinguish the individuals with normal body temperature from those with a higher temperature reading, transmit that data to the nearest gateway, and from there to the responsible staff, simple and remote. All of these use cases can be implemented at once with just one expanded LoRaWAN network that focus on detection, prevention, and reduction of disease spreading. A series of gateways and various sensors, at first glance - simple devices, can make all the difference in saving lives. Through the technology, developers will continue to adapt and provide solutions that strengthen the defense against this pandemic for the whole world. Smart hospitals are the obvious next step in the Smart City direction.
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Alibaba Cloud provides an Internet of Things platform to improve IoT communication access services. So, how do we connect our own gateway with Alibaba Cloud's IoT platform ? Two steps are required: Step 1: Register the gateway on Alibaba Cloud. But at this time, the gateway is only registered to Alibaba Cloud's IoT platform , but the gateway is not actually connected to Alibaba Cloud. Therefore, a second step is required. Step 2: Connect your own gateway device to the Internet. After connecting to the Internet, you can see that your gateway is "online" on Alibaba Cloud. At this time, the gateway is indeed connected to Alibaba Cloud. The specific operation is as follows. Step 1: Register the gateway on Alibaba Cloud1. Visit Alibaba Cloud Internet of Things management platfor 2. The steps to enter the registered gateway are shown in Figure 2. After entering the Internet of Things network management platform, click “Build and Share Network” to start building in the quick start On the interface shown in Figure 2, after clicking "Start Building", the interface shown in Figure 3 will appear. At this time, we see the "Registration Gateway" displayed on the interface of Figure 3, which is the goal of our step one Too. On the interface in Figure 3, click "Register Gateway", and the interface shown in Figure 4 appears. On the interface of Figure 4, fill in the corresponding gateway information according to the label picture on the device. Step 2: Connect your own gateway device.The gateway device is connected to the Alibaba Cloud IoT platform through the network . Therefore, you need to connect your own gateway device to connect it to Alibaba Cloud.
To connect the gateway device to the network, you first need to log in to the gateway device on the computer. For the method, see the article How to Log In to the Raspberry Pi Gateway on the Computer. Second, configure the gateway device with the help of the computer's display interface, so how to connect the gateway to the external network. See how to connect the Raspberry Pi Gateway to the external network. After the gateway is connected to the network, wait a moment, the gateway status displayed on the Alibaba Cloud IoT platform will be updated to the "online" status. LoRa modules often have built-in related sensor products. For example, RAK7204 is a temperature and humidity LoRaWAN sensor product. He has built-in various environmental sensors that can collect temperature, humidity, air pressure and indoor air quality parameters. Different users and different application scenarios may lead to different actual needs of users for sending and receiving data at this node. Usually as an embedded engineer, I start to develop an IoT product. For the selection of IoT modules, there are usually several ways, including serial port AT command, serial port transparent transmission, if you want to get lower power consumption and better cost , You can choose to use the MCU built into the module as your own application. However, the OpenMCU approach requires module suppliers with strong SDK integration capabilities and good supporting documentation. For example, RAKwireless has multiple LoRa modules to allow users to conduct secondary development, and also provides multiple The secondary development application examples of power consumption design can help users achieve lower system cost and lower system power consumption. Users can refer to these examples and modify them slightly according to their actual needs to achieve their own application purposes. This article introduces the specific steps of LoRa module module secondary development for developers who are using LoRaWAN module products for the first time and want to use OpenMCU for secondary development. There are two ways to do secondary development inside the IoT module. The usual approach is to integrate an SDK that can be developed. According to some of the SDK's configuration interfaces to implement their own applications, this approach requires users to The development environment of MCU must be familiar to achieve efficient development. RAKwireless provides a new way to help developers realize the use of internal MCU for secondary development. RAKwireless encapsulates a variety of scene-oriented APIs for the LoRaWAN protocol stack. Users only need to understand the usage of the API, write their own applications, and get their own development through a Web-based online compilation platform. This online compiler, The equivalent is that the developer only needs to write the specific application part, and then upload the main program, compile it, and the platform outputs an executable file, that is to complete the entire development process. Figure 1 Flowchart of secondary development of OpenMCU in RUI 1. Understand the composition of RUI and the purpose of RUI API.The firmware developed based on RUI consists of two parts: RUI SDK and Application, as shown in Figure 1 of this article. Among them, the RUI SDK part is the core of RUI, which has been adapted to the RAK LoRaWAN module product, and at the same time provides a unified set of RUI API for the Application part to call. For the purpose and usage of RUI API, please refer to the RUI API manual (available on the official website of RAKwireless, the company's official website-> resources-> documentation center, this way you can get the manuals of all products). Note: 1) Application is open source, users can carry out secondary development and modify it according to their own application logic, and the required low-level function support can be called by corresponding RUI API. 2) The RUI SDK part is not open source. It is placed in the RUI online compiler. When the user completes the secondary development of the Application part and uses the RUI online compiler to compile, the RUI SDK will be automatically loaded into the customized firmware. . 2. Comparing RAK product development practice code on Github with RAK, and understanding the usage of RUI API.RAK's LoRaWAN module and derivative products, and the application code corresponding to its officially released firmware can be found in RAK's Github at https://github.com/RAKWireless/Products_practice_based_on_RUI Figure 2 is an example of a file on Github: Figure 2 An example of the storage of Application code files corresponding to the firmware released by RAKwireless on Github As you can see, this code warehouse is divided into directories according to the model of the core module. We only need to find the corresponding core module directory, and we can see some product practice codes based on the module. Taking LoRaWAN module RAK811 as an example, as shown in Figure 3, when we enter the "based on RAK811" directory, we can see some product practice examples based on RAK811 module, these codes show how to add some peripherals and based on RAK811 module Sensors, through these sample codes, developers can quickly understand how to load sensors through RUI: rakwireless, Github, RAK811, Application code files, product practice examples Figure 3 RAKwireless LoRaWAN module RAK811 product practice example directory diagram on Github among them, 1) "app_5205" is the Application source code corresponding to the official firmware of the LoRaWAN tracker module RAK5205. An example of the folder directory is shown in Figure 4. Fig. 4 Product practice example catalogue of the LoRaWAN tracker module RAK5205 on the Github The LoRaWAN tracker module RAK5205 is based on the RAK811 module, adding environmental monitoring sensors (BME680), three-axis acceleration sensors (LIS3DH), and GPS modules (Ublox MAX 7Q). The code examples in this directory show how to complete the development of customized firmware based on the RAK811 module, connect other sensors through I2C and GPS modules through UART, and call through the RUI API. 2) "app_7204" is the Application source code corresponding to the official firmware of RAK7204, including RAK7204 sensor driver, AT command implementation, application logic processing, etc., all here (as shown in Figure 5), which uses a lot of RUI API, Used to implement related functions. Fig. 5 The product practice example catalogue of RAKwireless Wilink's LoRa module RAK7204 on Github The LoRa module RAK7204 is based on the RAK811 module and adds an environmental monitoring sensor (BME680). Therefore, you can learn how to add an I2C sensor based on the RAK811 module through the product practice code, and quickly complete the development of customized firmware through the RUI API call. For example, the file "app_7204.c" circled by the red rectangle in Figure 5 is the implementation of application logic processing. If you want to customize the development of application logic, you can focus on the code to understand the actual usage of the RUI API. 3) "app_PT100_Digital_Pressure_Sensor" is based on the RAK811 module, adding a hydraulic sensor PT100. 4) "app_RAK811" is the application code corresponding to the official firmware of the RAK811 module. If you want to modify the working logic and process of the RAK811 module, you can modify it based on the example code. 3. Choose a suitable example code from the RUI product development practice code on RAK Github, and modify it based on it, and carry out secondary development according to actual application requirements.These product development practice codes on RAK Github have realized the main part of Application, and code modification and secondary development based on it will do more with less. For example, the RAK7204 sample code shown in Figure 5 prints out the LoRa downlink data received by the node through the serial port without processing. This can be obtained from the code in the "app_7204.c" file shown in Figure see: Figure 6 The code example of app_7204.c of the LoRa module RAK7204 on the Github If you want to process the downstream data of LoRa in your customized firmware, you can achieve the goal by modifying the code of this function. 4. After completing the secondary development, use RUI's online compiler to compile to obtain the final customized firmware.RUI is the IoT end-side software tool deeply optimized by RAKwireless. After completing the customized development of the Application part, you can use the RUI online compiler to compile. The compilation interface is shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8. Figure 7 The login interface of the RUI Huilian RUI user interface Figure 8 RAKwireless RUI user interface selection product model As mentioned earlier, when compiling, the compiler will automatically load and compile the Application and RUI SDK together, and output the final customized firmware. The address of the RUI online compiler is: http://47.112.137.11:12090/#/user/login You can register and use it by email. For detailed usage, please refer to the instruction manual of RUI online compiler: https://downloads.rakwireless.com./RUI/RAK_Online_Compiler_Quick_Start_Guide.pdf 5. Burn the compiled customized firmware into RAK IoT terminal products and use OK, after the previous steps, you have compiled the final customized firmware binary file, and now you can burn it into the product for use. The method of programming the firmware is detailed in the corresponding product usage documents, and will not be repeated here. You can find the corresponding product usage in the document center (official website-> resources-> document center) of RAKwireless official website Documentation, follow the steps in the product usage documentation to complete the firmware programming. SummaryFor secondary development directly on the LoRa module with built-in OpenMCU, you can refer to the secondary development examples provided by the supplier. These secondary development examples are often designed with low power consumption. Therefore, users can not only save a lot of development time, no need for additional Purchasing components can save a lot of costs, and these secondary development application examples that have been designed with low power consumption can also achieve lower system costs and lower system power consumption. Original Post: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/127860989 Selecting the Right Gateway? Four Features to Evaluate First Before Choosing your Next LoRa Gateway4/22/2020 With the field of IoT continuously connecting everyone with its breakthroughs, it is no surprise that everyone is capable of creating an IoT project of one’s own now. You can just get devices and software on hundreds of catalogs on the internet to make your project work. The building and deployment will follow after. However, this ease of access brings upon errors that most excited beginners take in their project: failing to select the right gateway for their project. Gateways are an essential part of an IoT project as they act as a bridge between the devices on your LoRa network and the cloud or the internet. In comparison to a cellular network, gateways are the equivalent of a cellular tower. In cellular communications, no mobile device can communicate directly with each other. Instead, all messages and calls pass through the nearest cellular tower first. Similarly, all devices on the LoRa network send their data on the nearest gateway, which in turn, uploads this data to the cloud or internet. These gateways also come in two types: the ones that run on minimal firmware and the ones that run an operating system. The first type of gateway is very easy to use and requires the least amount of financial investment. DIY gateways fall into this category. With this type of gateway, you will have more freedom in making modifications to be able to perfectly suit your application. To create your DIY gateway, you need to start with a gateway concentrator module. Examples of modules that are available online are RAK2245 and RAK2247 from one of the leading IoT solutions provider, RAKwireless. The second type, on the one hand, is those that are ready to use and requires minimal network configuration. RAK7249, RAK7258, and RAK7244 are RAKwireless’ gateways for this type as well. Given this information, you can now explore and evaluate the four features of a LoRa gateway to select the best gateway for your project. Environmental ProtectionChoosing gateways starts with the question of whether the gateway will be located indoors or outdoors. For large-scale network implementations, outdoor gateways are usually used along with some indoor gateways to cover blind spots inside buildings and structures. More often than indoor gateways, outdoor gateways are designed to have a high IP rating to protect it from the elements. Internet ConnectionAnother very important feature is how the gateway will connect to the internet. Most outdoor applications will require gateways to support 3G or 4G while most indoor applications require gateways that support an ethernet connection. Gateway CapacityThe next criterion that must be determined is the gateway’s capacity. This is measured by the number of devices that can connect to the network at any given point in time. Public networks and very dense deployments will require a higher number of channels to keep an acceptable quality of service (QOS) and to avoid high traffic. Other than the number of channels, gateways are also categorized into carrier-grade or enterprise-grade. Carrier-grade gateways are usually used for high-value commercial applications, while enterprise-grade gateways are used for other applications where low cost is an important factor. Data Protection and PrivacyFor commercial applications that carry sensitive information, it is greatly critical to choose a gateway that offers real-time data control and data privacy protocols. This is even more important for large-scale implementation since the long transmission range of LoRa can allow unauthorized devices to connect to it without permission. Due to IoT’s efforts in connecting everyone, the ease of starting one’s project has also made starting developers excitedly jump into their projects without carefully selecting the right gateways they need. Making a correct decision in choosing is important for a developer in preventing unnecessary costs and ensuring the success of the project. You may like also: LoRaWAN, Two, Three, and More! 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