Internet of Things Network
As the first city in the Czech Republic, we have launched our own Internet of Things network operating on the open LoRaWAN platform.
What’s the aim of the project?
Build and operate an urban IoT network and use it for:
- education, research, testing, projects – we have made the network available free of charge to students, schools, and everyone else who wants to learn, invent or test something. The reason is simple – we want to have more innovatively-oriented companies and start-ups in Pilsen.
- city companies – water meter readings, data transfer from sensors, etc.
What’s the result of the project?
In January 2017, SITMP launched the IoT network on the open LoRaWAN platform on an unlicensed 868 MHz band, more on IoT Plzeň.
This is a wireless network based on LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) technology, which enables simple and energy-efficient communication with a far reach. With the help of this network, it is possible to secure the connection and communication of sensor units from locations in which other suitable access technology or electrical power supply is unavailable and subsequently process the data sent by the sensors.
At present, the network is ready to be made available to city organizations and students for registration of their own sensor units and processing of the obtained data.
Link to log into the PLZEN LoRa system https://lora.plzen.eu
About IoT in general:
The Internet of Things, known as IoT (Internet of Things), is a commonly used and widespread term today which uses a simple phrase to express the essence of this new trend= connecting various “things” with the Internet. This interconnection of “things” will enable not only basic communication and data transfer, but also new possibilities of connecting “things” that have not yet been connected, allowing for communication between individual objects or between objects and humans and their integration with smart electronics. The obtained data can be meaningfully processed, evaluated and used in various areas, such as transport, industry, agriculture, etc. Other terms used, such as smart homes or smart cities, describe things that are possible through the Internet of Things.
Technically, the Internet of Things consists of 3 basic elements:
- Things = objects, equipment, machines, sensors, appliances from which we want to obtain data and work with them further.
- Communication networks that, as a means of communication, enable the transmission of the measured, entered or otherwise obtained data from “things” . All available technologies can be used as a communication network, e.g. WiFi, Ethernet, 3G, LTE, Bluetooth, LoRaWAN and more. Each of these communication networks is suited for a different use.
- Data centres for storage and data processing, which allow us to store, monitor and analyze the acquired data and subsequently learn from them as well as perform other actions automatically. The data can be stored in the cloud or on your own servers.
The reason why IoT is currently experiencing a great boom is primarily the development and innovation in the field of wireless and mobile networks. The latest wireless networks based on LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) technology, e.g. LoRaWAN, enable simple and energy-efficient communication with a far reach and thus extend the possibilities of using IoT in other areas.
There is a lot of room for the development of new technologies, both in the field of hardware development (e.g. sensors) and in the field of software development (e.g. applications, smart data processing, etc.).
The project is implemented by the Information Technology Administration of the City of Pilsen
- Using the network in education
- Using the network for city companies
- Using the network for the support of research and development