Fostering Innovation at Mobile World Congress

By Marc Pegulu, Vice President Wireless LoRa and IoT, Wireless and Sensing Products Group

Mobile World Congress (MWC) is always the most anticipated mobile industry event of the year, attracting nearly 110,000 visitors from 198 countries. Each year I leave the show, I’m in awe at the pace of innovation in the Internet of Things (IoT) market and the speed at which technologies are rapidly evolving to market ready-solutions.

This year, MWC hosted the 10th IOT/WT Innovation World Cup®. From new ways to track food quality, to innovative means to make industries and cities smarter, there were over 500 ground-breaking submissions from all over the world. Out of the 20 highly innovative finalists honored at MWC, three built their solution based on Semtech’s LoRa® devices and wireless radio frequency technology (LoRa Technology), which showcases the platform’s proven, easy to implement capabilities.

LoRa-based Innovation World Cup semifinalists:

KotahiNet, a leading creator of IoT applications from New Zealand, developed a system of LoRa-based sensors to screen rivers for pollution. The data collected on pollution levels is reported to communities for evaluation and notification if areas are unsafe to swim in or drink. The sensors also monitor water levels for pollution indicators to predict if a certain river or area may become polluted in the future.

Vinduino, a smart agriculture technology company, is using LoRa-based valve controllers to help growers meet their needs. By offering technology services, including an online platform for optimized irrigation based on local weather data and soil moisture, growers are able to replace manual operations and increase irrigation accuracy by remotely measure the amount of water applied to the crops.

LoRa-based Innovation World Cup winners:

Axino Solutions, a leading supplier of smart refrigeration, used LoRa-based solutions to combine sensor technology with AI algorithms to predict the core temperature of different refrigerated food items in retail stores in order to comply with food safety regulations. This retrofit solution is designed to help food retailers digitalize their quality management process, hence reducing food waste and lost revenues.

Additional companies who developed LoRa-based solutions include: Aonchip, Breeze Technologies, CleverFarm, IOTEROP, IoTize, NOWI, and Tarilian Laser Technologies.

LoRa Technology has benefited from mass adoption in a variety of IoT solutions that solve complex issues and continues to create unique and highly innovative applications. The success and growth of LoRa Technology globally is a result of companies implementing and benefitting from LoRa-based devices and networks today.

If you were to develop a LoRa-based solution, what would you create?