Semtech Corporation, a leading supplier of analog and mixed-signal semiconductors, announced that itsLoRa wireless RF technology for Internet of Things (IoT) applications was used in the winning solution at the Campus Party Mexico Hackathon in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico on June 27-July 1. Team Brainiacs presented its Nodi solution, which is based on LoRa wireless technology, for enabling affordable and easy-to-use text communication in remote communities.t
Brainiac’s solution uses a network of LoRaWAN sensors to enable a solar-powered mobile device that communicates via text on an unlicensed frequency. This should give remote communities easy, free access to communication that can serve health, education, public safety, financial, environmental protection, income generation and employment, and other critical purposes. The Campus Party Mexico Hackathon aimed at combating poverty at this year’s hackathon and received over 265 viable proposals from among 20,000 attendees, which broke a Guinness World Record.
Members of the Brainiacs team were already in contact with Semtech through a series of LoRa workshops hosted in cooperation with FUMEC. Now that the team has additional prize funding, they can expand their operations and create more prototypes. In addition to winning one million pesos, the team will receive expert advice to help start and grow their company.
“LoRa gave us the ability to offer the long range communication features at reduced cost,” said Javier Dávila, team leader of the Brainiacs. “By allowing us to connect to an open, wide area network, the users in remote communities can now access basic technology resources and hopefully enjoy many benefits.”
“This use case for LoRa is particularly exciting because it solves a real-world problem with a workable solution,” said Mike Wong, Vice President of Marketing and Applications for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Product Group. “Team Brainiacs leveraged LoRa technology’s strengths and proposed a way to package it into an easy-to-use, energy efficient device that can be used by populations with limited access to essential resources.”
“We endeavor to promote projects with a global impact. The Brainiacs project represents an example of the support that FUMEC provides to startups and companies to implement innovative technologies such as LoRa creative IoT applications not just in Mexico but throughout the world,” said Guillermina Avendaño, Director of Microsystem Programs at FUMEC.
Semtech’s LoRa two-way wireless technology is a comprehensive solution for low power, long-range connectivity, which is essential for LPWANs supporting IoT applications. It offers deep penetrability, secure connectivity, long battery lifetime and streamlined implementation for simple network rollout, as well as integration into existing infrastructure.
For more information, visit www.semtech.com.
