Lesson 4: Getting connected

Lesson 4: Getting connected

with LoRa
with LoRa
Lesson Objectives
• To learn what LoRa is

• To understand what it does

• To understand the terms Over The Air Authentication, Authentication by

Personalisation and Node

• To connect the FiPy board to the LoRa network

• To set up an account on The Things Network (TTN)

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Key point
You have to make sure that your Pycom device can connect to LoRa if this
lecture is to be helpful

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LoRa – An introduction
• LoRa is short for Long Range radio
• It is derived from the chirp spread spectrum (CSS)
• LoRa is in the physical layer or layer 1 of the OSI model of computer networking

(Image source:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5a/LoRa_Module_with_antenna_and_SPI_wires_attached.jpg)

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LoRa – An introduction
LoRaWAN
• Is the open specification protocol
based on LoRa technology
• It is the communication protocol and
system architecture for the network
• Supports both OTAA and ABP
connection methods, as well as
advanced features

(Image source:
https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/docs/lorawan/LoRaWAN-
Overview.png)

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LoRa-MAC (Raw LoRa)
• In LoRa-MAC mode the LoRaWAN
layer is bypassed and the radio is used
directly
• The modules do not have to be
registered

(Image source:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332151302/figure/fig1/A
S:743250218450945@1554216069910/The-LoRaWAN-MAC-
protocol-stack-is-implemented-on-top-of-LoRa-modulation-
PHY-The.ppm)

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lora-mac/
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Suitable Use-cases for LoRaWAN

1. Long range – up to several kilometres

2. Low power – can last years on a battery
3. Low cost
4. Low bandwidth - between 250bit/s and 11kbit/s in Europe using LoRa modulation
(depending on the spreading factor)
5. Wide coverage area
6. Secure - 128 bit end-to-end encryption

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lora-mac/
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Before starting

When you are using LoRaWAN you only need to concern yourself with two
things:

• Your IoT devices

• The Internet service (‘platform’) your IoT devices communicate with

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Before starting

If, as in this example, you are using The Things Network, please check their
coverage map (https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/map)

o This will show the gateways that are already set-up and available to be used
for free

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Before starting

• Each gateway on TTN has a Gateway ID and a sample code that creates a
unique Gateway ID

o The sample code uses a unique identifier (MAC) that is built into the WiFi
network adaptor on all Pycom devices

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Registering with LoRaWAN
1. Get your module's Device EUI
a) Use this code:

2. The output will be a hex string like this: 70B3D5499585FCA1

https://docs.pycom.io/gettingstarted/registration/lora/

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Registering with LoRaWAN
3. Once you have the hex string, you will need to provide it to you LoRaWAN
network – so make a note of it

a) You need it to connect via Over The Air Activation (OTAA) or Activation by
Personalisation (ABP)

https://docs.pycom.io/gettingstarted/registration/lora/
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Registering with TTN
To set up the gateway with The Things
Network (TTN)

1. Head to their website

2. Create a username and they'll need
your email address to verify with their
platform
3. Once an account has been registered,
the nano-gateway can then be
registered
4. Navigate to the TTN Console webpage

https://docs.pycom.io/gettingstarted/registration/lora/ttn/
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Registering with TTN
5. Navigate to ‘Console’ under your 6. Under the application option, choose
account name ‘Add Application’

https://docs.pycom.io/gettingstarted/registration/lora/ttn/

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Registering with TTN
7. Select ‘register device’ to add your 8.Create a unique Device-ID
device to the TTN application

https://docs.pycom.io/gettingstarted/registration/lora/ttn/

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Registering with TTN
9. After you’ve registered, you’ll be taken to the device overview page. Go
to Settings and paste in your copied Device EUI

https://docs.pycom.io/gettingstarted/registration/lora/ttn/
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Woo!
Connecting via OTAA
• OTAA stands for Over The Air Authentication

• The network will provide you with:

o An Application EUI

o An Application Key

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-otaa/

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LoRaWAN with OTAA
• With this method, the FiPy sends a Join request to the LoRaWAN gateway

• If the keys are correct, the Gateway will reply to the FiPy with a join accept
message

• If the keys are incorrect, no response will be received and the has_joined()
method will always return to False

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-otaa/
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Connecting via OTAA
Use this code to connect to the
network

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-otaa/
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LoRaWAN with OTAA
This example attempts to get any
data received after sending the frame

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-otaa/
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LoRaWAN with ABP
• APB stands for Authentication By Personalisation

• The network will provide you with:

o A Device Address

o A Network Session Key

o An Application Session Key

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-abp/

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LoRaWAN with ABP
• The encryption keys are configured manually on the device

• Can start sending frames to the Gateway without needing a 'handshake'

procedure to exchange the keys

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-abp/
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LoRaWAN with ABP
Use this code to connect to the network

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-abp/
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LoRaWAN with ABP
This example attempts to get any
data received after sending the
frame

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-abp/
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It’s now time to Register a gateway with TTN
Registering A gateway with TTN
5. Inside the TTN Console, there are • 6. Please verify that the location and
two options. country specific frequency is correct,
a) Applications otherwise you will not be able to
connect to TTN
b) Gateways – Select Register
Gateway

https://docs.pycom.io/gettingstarted/registration/lora/ttn/
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Registering a gateway with TTN
Verify that the location and
country specific frequency
is correct otherwise you will
not be able to connect to
TTN

https://docs.pycom.io/gettingsta
rted/registration/lora/ttn/

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Registering A Gateway with TTN
7. The Gateway EUI should match your Gateway ID from the config.py file

https://docs.pycom.io/gettingstarted/registration/lora/ttn/

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Registering A gateway with TTN
8. Once these settings have been
applied, click Register Gateway.

a) A 'Gateway Overview' page will

appear, with the configuration
settings showing.

https://docs.pycom.io/gettingstarted/registration/lora/ttn/

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The Gateway should now be
configured!
 LoRaWAN Nano-Gateway
Nano-Gateway

• The Nano-Gateway code is split into 3 files, main.py, config.py and

nanogateway.py

• It’s best to use the latest code from GitHub, so click here and unzip the
downloaded file

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/

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LoRaWAN Nano-Gateway
Main (main.py)

• This file runs at boot

• It calls the library and config.py files

to initialise the nano-gateway.

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lora
wan-nano-gateway/
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LoRaWAN Nano-Gateway
Configuration (config.py)
• Contains settings for the server and
network it is connecting to.
• Please change the WIFI_SSID and
the WIFI_PASS variables to match
your desired WiFi network

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/
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LoRaWAN Nano-Gateway
Library (nanogateway.py) code continued

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LoRaWAN Nano-Gateway
Library (nanogateway.py)
• The nano-gateway controls all of the
packet generation and forwarding
for the LoRa data.
• This does not require any user
configuration and the latest version
of this code should be downloaded
from here

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lora
wan-nano-gateway/

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LoRaWAN Nano-Gateway
Gateway ID
• Most LoRaWAN network servers expect a Gateway ID in the form of a unique
64-bit hexadecimal number (called a EUI-64)

• The result will be something like

b'240ac4FFFE008d88' where 240ac4FFFE008d88 is your Gateway ID to be
used in your network provider configuration.

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/
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LoRa-MAC Nano-Gateway
Gateway Code
• The code shows how to allow a raw
LoRa connection between two FiPys
(nodes) to a single FiPy acting as a
Nano-Gateway

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/l
ora-mac-nano-gateway/

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LoRa-MAC Nano-Gateway
The Node

The node is always sending

packages and waiting for the
ack from the gateway

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lora-
mac-nano-gateway/
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LoRa-MAC Nano-Gateway
To adapt to user specific needs:

• Put a max waiting time for the ack to arrive and resend the package or

mark it as invalid

• Increase the package size changing the _LORA_PKG_FORMATto BH%ds

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lora-mac-nano-gateway/
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Node to Node
How to connect two Pycom LoRa capable modules (nodes) via raw LoRa
Node A Node B

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/module-module/
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Configuring your node(s)
You have to configure your node(s) to use the nano-gateway so that TTN
applications can be built

There are two methods of connecting FiPy devices to the nano-gateway:

• Over The Air Activation (OTAA)
• Activation by Personalisation (ABP)

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/

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Configuring your node(s) - OTAA

When the FiPy connects to an application (via TTN) using OTAA, the network
configuration is derived automatically during a handshake between the FiPy and
the network

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/

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Configuring your node(s) - OTAA

https://docs.pycom.io/tut
orials/lora/lorawan-nano-
gateway/
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Configuring your node(s) -ABP

Activation by Personalisation – ABP

• Using ABP join mode requires the user to define the listed values and input
them into both the FiPy and the TTN Application

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/

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Configuring your node(s) - ABP

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/
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TTN Applications

• Now that the gateway and nodes have been setup, a TTN application can be
built

• The example that follows demonstrates an HTTP request integration

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/

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TTN Applications – HTTP request integration
Registering an Application
1. Select the Applications tab at the
top of the TTN console. This will
bring up a screen for registering
applications.
2. Click register and a new page

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/
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TTN Applications – HTTP request integration
Registering an Application
3. Enter a unique Application ID as well as a Description and Handler
Registration

4.The FiPy nodes must be registered to send data up to the new application

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/

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 TTN Applications – HTTP request integration
Registering devices
1. To connect nodes to the nano-gateway, devices need to be added to the
application
2. To do this, navigate to the Devices tab on the Application home page
3. Click the Register Device button

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/

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TTN Applications – HTTP request integration

4. In the Register Device panel, complete the forms for Device ID and Device
EUI

5. Once the device has been added, change the Activation Method between
OTAA and ABP depending on the user preference
a) This option can be found under the Settings tab

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/

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TTN Applications – HTTP request integration

Adding Application Integrations

• Data is now arriving on the TTN backend
• TTN can be managed, so where the data is delivered can be controlled

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/

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TTN Applications – HTTP request integration
Adding Application Integrations
1. Use the Integrations tab within
the new application's settings
2. Click Add Integration and a
screen with four different options
will appear

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-
nano-gateway/
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TTN Applications – HTTP request integration

1. Click HTTP Integration to connect

up to an endpoint that can receive
the data
2. For testing, a website called
RequestBin can be used to receive
the data that TTN forwards (via POST
request)

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/

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TTN Applications – HTTP request intergration
3. Navigate to RequestBin and click 4. Copy the URL that is generated and
Create a RequestBin paste this into the URL form under the
Application Settings

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/

• 27/04/2020 Created by Pycom for Education 55

 TTN Applications – HTTP request intergration
6. This is the address that TTN will
forward data onto.

a) As soon as a FiPy starts

sending messages, TTN will
forward these onto
RequestBin and they will
appear at the unique
RequestBin URL

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-nano-gateway/

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RN2483 to FiPy
This example shows how to send data between a Microchip RN2483 and a FiPy
via raw LoRa
RN2483
FiPy

https://docs.pycom.io/tutorials/lora/lorawan-
nano-gateway/
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And you're set with LoRa!