Key Highlights from the world’s largest LoRaWAN Event – The Things Conference 2020

Published  March 6, 2020   0
S Staff
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The Things Conference 2020

The world’s largest LoRaWAN event, The Things Conference 2020 took place in Amsterdam, on January 30-31 2020. Experts from leading industries in the ecosystem such as Google, ST, Murata, Semtech, and others came together to showcase the endless possibilities of IoT with LoRaWAN.

The event is organized by The Things Network, a global open-source LoRaWAN network. From new technical developments to the latest groundbreaking solutions and state-of-the-art products, here are the key highlights from The Things Conference 2020 that you should know.

Secure and simple devices provisioning with the Global Join Server

The Things Industries launched the Global Join Server, offering an operator agnostic, secure device pre-provisioning platform with zero vendor lock-in.

The role of a LoRaWAN Join Server is to store root keys, generate session keys, and send them securely to the Network Server of choice. When devices are pre-provisioned to the Global Join Server, end users only define the Network Server the devices need to connect to. No cumbersome keys need to be exchanged, only a QR code needs to be scanned to make a device connect. This solution is already available with a series of device makers.

The Things Enterprise Stack, the next-generation LoRaWAN network server

The Things Industries launched its new version of the LoRaWAN network server. The Things Enterprise Stack (TTES) allows remote management and monitoring of devices and gateways with an elaborate toolset. The stack can be deployed in various modes ranging from a Cloud Hosted (fully managed service) to Self Hosted. There is also the option of deploying a LoRaWAN network with a single click On the AWS marketplace.

The STM32 LoRa system-on-chip

STMicroelectronics has revealed the world’s first LoRa system-on-chip (SoC) to create LoRaWAN-enabled smart devices. The LoRa SoC combines ST’s proven skills in ultra-low-power STM32 microcontroller design with a LoRa-compliant radio in one single-die and easy-to-use device. The SoC is the smallest and cheapest option available as of now.

Interoperability with Packet Broker

Packet Broker is a global LoRaWAN peering broker between private and public networks just like a simple Internet exchange for IoT. Starting with the data exchange between The Things Network and The Things Industries, containing over 20k gateways. The Things Industries is now onboarding new network operators to realize better coverage, greater resilience against gateway failures, increased network capacity, and longer device battery life.

LoRaWAN from space

Lacuna Space revealed its end-to-end satellite solution. LoRaWAN devices with a secure element (pre-provisioned on the Global Join Server) can send data to low-orbit satellites, which forwards the data to a ground station. Connected to the Packet Broker, this station will be able to send the data to the right LoRaWAN network server. Satellite connectivity is available for valuation purposes in early 2020.

There are the top five key highlights, you can also find all the announcements, workshops, and innovative LoRaWAN solutions presented at the conference over here.