ICFOSS to Set up LoRaWAN-based Open IoT Ecosystem in Colleges

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Seeking to promote study and research in Internet of Things (IoT), Kerala’s International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS) is planning to establish LoRaWAN® in selected engineering and polytechnic colleges in Kerala.

The ICFOSS, an initiative of Kerala’s Department of Electronics and Information Technology, is expected to render a big boost to student startups in developing ready-to-market IoT solutions through the project. ICFOSS has a FOSS incubator, which is used by startups in their applied R&D efforts.

LoRaWAN® is a Low Power, Wide Area (LPWA) networking protocol designed to wirelessly connect battery-operated things to the internet in regional, national or global networks. It targets key IoT requirements such as bi-directional communication, end-to-end security, mobility and localization services.

ICFOSS will work with selected engineering and polytechnic colleges to establish LoRaWAN® Gateways on their respective campuses. It will also work with students and academicians to help them learn and practice Open Source IoT.

The participating institutes will be provided with LoRaWAN® in a Box Kit developed by ICFOSS, which consists of a LoRaWAN® Gateway, Nodes, network and application servers and different sensors. The concept formulated by ICFOSS Open IoT team is expected to give a big thrust to evolution of solutions in compliance with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

ICFOSS is a part of LoRa Alliance, a global non-profit agency working on creating compliance for LoRaWAN® as well as its promotion. For setting up LoRaWAN® in engineering colleges, institutions can apply online through https://icfoss.in

The last date of applications is on October 31. The faculty in-charge from selected institutions will have to attend a three-day intensive workshop on LoRaWAN® and Open IoT at Swatantra office of ICFOSS, during which the final list of institutions will be identified for first phase of deployment.

Ten locations spread across Kerala will be made LoRaWAN®-enabled during the first phase, which will go live in November. ICFOSS will be providing all technical support for the deployed LoRaWAN® and projects using the same. These institutions will also function as regional skill updation centers for LoRaWAN® Centre of Excellence in ICFOSS.