Propagation Modeling of IoT Devices for Deployment in Multi-level Hilly Urban Environments

Internet of Things (IoT) devices are deployed in various environments to obtain desired information. Accurate propagation models are required for these devices to adequately relay the gathered information to the processing center. A comprehensive search of the literature reveals there are no sufficient studies on empirical propagation models to support reliable deployment of IoT devices in multi-level hilly and mountainous urban environments. This research provides empirical path loss models and data for low power wireless devices deployed in such environments. This paper compares the proposed models with theoretical models. Results show that theoretical models deviate from proposed models by 10 to 43 %. Finally, results also show that models established at low packet error rate and high signal-to-noise ratio are more reliable than those formed without considering these parameters. The provided models, as well as the measured data, can be used for proficient design and deployment of wireless sensor network that enables IoT in various similar hilly urban environments.