We are happy to announce the first fully functioning LoRa Bridge prototype!

At the time of writing, already thousands of LoRaWAN packets containing measurement from various short range sensors have been delivered by our range extender. Since the primary use-case in the project is connected to a smart-home scenario, we have integrated the well known open-source home automation framework Home Assistant to visualize the sensor values (see an example visualization in the Figure below). The development path between the last blog entry and this one involved intensive testing of the technology behind the range extension: Firstly we studied the LoRaWAN range capabilities within an indoor wireless scenario and secondly as LoRaWAN comes with a limited data-rate we also focused on packing as many of sensor reading per single LoRaWAN packet as possible. With simple compression rules it is possible to minimize the latency caused by the LoRaWAN channel access regulations. 

As we move on to the second half of the project, we will target crucial milestones such as ease of installation and usage via improved user interface as well as installing the LoRaBridge range extension to a real smart home environment.