AOWIS will need to have an LPWAN (Low-Power Wide-Area Network) as its main backbone to communicate between Sensors, Controllers, Actuators. Here is an overview about the most common technologies available:
| ISO/OSI Layer |
LoRa |
LoRaWAN |
MQTT |
AMQP |
Zigbee |
Z-Wave |
EnOcean |
Sigfox |
NB-IoT
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| 7. Application |
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✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
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✔
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| 6. Presentation |
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| 5. Session |
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| 4. Transport |
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✔ |
✔ |
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✔
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| 3. Network |
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✔ |
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✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔
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| 2. Data Link |
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✔ |
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✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔
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| 1. Physical |
✔ |
✔ |
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✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔
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For AOWIS, the most interesting is LoRaWAN for Layers 1 - 3 and MQTT for Layer 7:
- LoRa/LoRaWAN: Low-Power, Long-Range Radio transmission up to 15 km.
- MQTT: MQTT is optimized as the Application Layer for LPWANs.
- NB-IoT: Narrowband Internet of Things: LPWAN using 3GPP (part of LTE/4G family) mobile networks run by cellular operators.
MQTT vs AMQP
| Feature |
MQTT |
AMQP
|
| Full Name |
Message Queuing Telemetry Transport |
Advanced Message Queuing Protocol
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| Purpose |
Lightweight pub/sub messaging for constrained devices |
Enterprise-grade messaging with queues, routing, and transactions
|
| Typical Use |
IoT sensors, mobile devices, low-bandwidth systems |
Backend systems, enterprise integration, cloud services
|
| Transport |
TCP/IP (often with TLS) |
TCP/IP (often with TLS)
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| Complexity |
Simple, minimal implementation |
Complex, feature-rich
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| Messaging Pattern |
Publish / Subscribe |
Publish/Subscribe, Queues, Request/Reply
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| Broker |
Required |
Required
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| Routing |
Topic-based |
Exchanges, routing keys, queues (flexible routing)
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| Delivery Guarantees |
QoS 0, 1, 2 |
Acknowledgments, durable queues, transactions
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| Bandwidth Usage |
Very low |
Higher overhead
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| Device Suitability |
Excellent for constrained devices |
Typically server-side, not for small devices
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| Scalability |
High (many devices, simple topics) |
High (complex distributed systems)
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| Best Fit |
IoT, telemetry, real-time updates |
Enterprise workflows, reliable processing, integration
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SigFox vs LoRaWAN
| Feature |
Sigfox |
LoRaWAN
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| Type |
LPWAN (proprietary) |
LPWAN (open standard)
|
| Frequency |
Sub-GHz ISM bands (868 MHz EU, 902 MHz US) |
Sub-GHz ISM bands (868 MHz EU, 915 MHz US)
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| Network Topology |
Star (device → base station → cloud) |
Star-of-stars (device → gateway → network server → cloud)
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| Ownership |
Operator-managed (public network) |
Public or private gateways
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| Protocol |
Ultra-narrowband |
LoRa modulation + LoRaWAN MAC
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| Typical Range |
3–10 km urban, 10–50 km rural |
0.5–2 km urban, 2–15 km rural
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| Indoor Coverage |
Moderate |
Good, depends on gateway placement
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| Infrastructure Needed |
Base stations operated by Sigfox |
1–2 gateways per farm/field usually sufficient
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| Max Payload per Message |
12 bytes |
51–242 bytes (depends on settings)
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| Max Messages per Day |
~140 |
Hundreds (depends on duty cycle & spreading factor)
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| Latency |
High / asynchronous |
Low to moderate (depends on class: A/B/C)
|
| Device Battery Life |
5–10 years (ultra-low power) |
5–10 years (ultra-low power)
|
| Duty Cycle |
Very low |
Flexible, can handle more frequent messages
|
| Network Cost |
Subscription fee per device |
One-time gateway cost + optional server
|
| Flexibility |
Limited to Sigfox network |
Can deploy private networks; mix public/private
|
| Scalability |
Limited by network policies |
Scales well for thousands of devices per gateway
|
| Best Fit |
Very low-frequency sensor updates, minimal infrastructure |
Large-scale farms or water networks, more frequent updates, private control
|
ZigBee vs Z-Wave vs EnOcean
| Feature |
Zigbee |
Z-Wave |
EnOcean
|
| Type |
Short-range wireless mesh |
Short-range wireless mesh |
Ultra-low-power / energy harvesting
|
| Frequency |
2.4 GHz worldwide (also 868/915 MHz regional) |
900 MHz regional (868 MHz EU, 908 MHz US) |
868 MHz EU, 315 MHz US, 2.4 GHz worldwide
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| Network Topology |
Mesh |
Mesh |
Star or small mesh
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| Typical Range |
10–100 m indoor, up to 300 m outdoor |
30–100 m indoor, 100 m outdoor |
30–300 m, depends on environment
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| Device Density |
High (many nodes in mesh) |
Medium (mesh limited to ~232 nodes) |
Medium (fewer nodes, simpler network)
|
| Power Source |
Battery, mains |
Battery, mains |
Energy harvesting (kinetic, solar, thermal) or battery
|
| Battery Life |
1–5 years depending on device |
1–5 years depending on device |
Essentially unlimited with energy harvesting
|
| Data Rate |
20–250 kbps |
9.6–100 kbps |
125–1,000 bps
|
| Latency |
Low to moderate (mesh hops add delay) |
Low to moderate |
Low (small messages)
|
| Max Payload per Message |
127 bytes |
100 bytes |
14–30 bytes (small sensor messages)
|
| Security |
AES-128 encryption |
AES-128 encryption |
Lightweight encryption, optional
|
| Best Fit |
Home/building automation, sensors, lighting, HVAC |
Home/building automation, locks, sensors |
Battery-free sensors, building automation, energy-harvesting devices
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