LoRAgent: A DTN-based Location-aware Communication System using LoRa

Abstract

Modern information and communication technology (ICT) is often very vulnerable to disruptions through disasters. Yet, the ability to communicate and distribute messages is vital for efficient disaster response. Furthermore, ad hoc deployment of flexible, robust, and affordable communication systems in a disaster area are often necessary. Therefore, we propose a disruption-tolerant networking bundle agent that uses LoRa radio technology to provide decentralized basic means of communication. To address the hardware’s technological limitations as well as the uncertainty of the user locations and their movement behavior, we propose a geospatial routing mechanism for efficient message forwarding. In conjunction with the communication and routing solutions presented, we also designed specific pager-like hardware for intuitive message reception and bridging of smartphones into LoRa networks. We evaluated our solutions in various simulations as well as through real-world implementations on different hardware platforms.