Applications
LoRa is a Low Energy Long Range wireless communication system. LoRaWAN builds upon the LoRa communication stack adding packet addressing. Internet of Things (IoT) devices is one of the most popular applications for LoRaWAN. LoRaWAN is the best option for IoT due to its low power and long range capabilities. The low power capabilities are perfect for this application due to the fact that most IoT devices are sensors, which are placed in locations where it is not convenient to continuously be drawing power. The long-range capabilities empower IoT deployment beyond the range of traditional wireless standards such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. LoRa gateways can be deployed by anyone to act as a transition point from the LoRa network to the IP network where a remote server is located.
Smart Cities
Smart cities is one of the big pushes by several LoRa Alliance members. Their dream envisions a city that has hundreds of thousands of sensors that communicate in an urban IoT environment. Light posts would implement gateways that could communicate with traffic sensors to detect congestion. Sensors in garbage cans could detect fill level and transmit a maintenance request.
Medical
LoRaWAN can be utilized for a vast array of wearable health monitoring devices that can transmit information to nurses and other medical staff. An example of this would be a wearable device for an elderly person that could transmit vitals and emergency information in the event of an accident.
Agriculture
LoRaWAN could greatly benefit the agricultural industry by increasing productivity and efficiency. LoRaWAN-enabled end-devices could monitor soil moisture levels, irrigation control, and warehouse vitals.