A Low-Cost and Infrastructure-Less LoRa Wireless Network Testbed for Cognitive Internet of Things

Abstract

Low-power wide area network (LPWAN) testbeds are essential for cognitive communications and networking, as they provide practical and controlled environments for testing, validating, and advancing cognitive technologies in the cognitive Internet of Things (IoT). However, establishing extensive outdoor testbeds faces a significant challenge due to the lack of robust infrastructure, limiting testing to indoor settings or a small number of devices. This constraint prevents adequate testing of cognitive communications and networking techniques. In this article, we introduce ChirpBox: an innovative, infrastructure-free, and cost-effective LPWAN testbed that revolutionizes the utilization of LoRa nodes. Beyond their conventional role in experimentation, these nodes in ChirpBox orchestrate all operations, from disseminating firmware for testing to collecting log traces at the conclusion of each test cycle. This holistic approach is enabled by our development of an all-to-all multi-channel protocol that leverages concurrent transmissions for efficient communication across multi-hop LoRa networks. Following a detailed presentation of ChirpBox’s design and implementation, we demonstrate its capabilities through a practical deployment. This evaluation offers experimental insights into the testbed’s performance, illustrating its operations and highlighting its potential to advance cognitive IoT research and development.