IoT Asset tracking based on GPS and LoRa wireless technology

Abstract

Asset tracking is the process of collecting location data regarding valuable items within an organization. The Internet of Things (IoT) stands for connecting physical objects wirelessly, for the purpose of exchanging data over the internet. IoT asset tracking defines the use of IoT enabling technologies in order to collect, store, and visualize location data of assets in real- time, which allows better and more reliable decision making. Technologies such as Wi-Fi and cellular are widely used to enable IoT wireless connection of physical objects; however, when dealing with use cases in large industrial environments where assets are spread randomly indoor and outdoor, the network coverage problem arises. This report proposes an IoT solution to the asset tracking use case in which Global Positioning System (GPS) is used to acquire real-time location data and LoRa communication technology is used to allow wireless data transmission over long ranges. A tracker and a gateway embedded systems were designed and implemented based on microcontrollers and System-on-Chip (SoC) modules. The tracker was designed to acquire and send location data wirelessly over long ranges; the gateway on the other hand receives data then forwards it to a web application for storing and visualization. Different software drivers were written using C programming language to allow interfacing the GPS and LoRa modules. By the end of this report, we were able to visualize real-time locations of a moving vehicle with 1-3 meters accuracy in localizing the asset, and a wireless signal reach of 293 meters. Our solution is used to track outdoor moving assets within industrial environments.