A LoRaWAN Uplink Range-Extender (LURE) for Extended and Energy-Efficient Wireless IoT Communications

LoRaWAN has proven helpful in many application areas, such as meteorological monitoring in sparsely populated areas. LoRaWAN End Nodes send data to a LoRaWAN Gateway, conveying it to network and application servers using an IP connection. In remote areas, connectivity is often unavailable, but these areas can provide a wealth of data valid for disaster prevention, wild animal tracking, climate assessment, and modeling, among others. We present a LoRaWAN Range Extender, which extends the coverage of existing gateways without requiring any modification to the existing LoRaWAN infrastructure. This device could double the achievable range of a standard LoRaWAN link or enable nodes to be serviced behind obstacles that prevent direct communication with the Gateway. The Range Extender must be within the communication reach of an existing LoRaWAN Gateway while also being reachable by the End Nodes of interest. It can be located in places without cellular coverage, and since it is cheaper to operate and install, it can lower both capital and operational expenses.