
Dryad adds LoRa satellite links for AI wildfire monitoring
Dryad Networks is adding the ability to link directly to satellites in orbit from its gateways monitoring forests for fires using AI.
The third generation Dryad systems are adding LoRa satellite links, on-board antennas and NFC configuration to simplify the product design, CEO Carsten Brinkschulte tells eeNews Europe.
Solar-powered gas sensors are connected to gateways via the LoRa low power wide area network (LPWAN) protocol. These can now be configured using a near field communication (NFC) tag for the different sub-GHz frequencies used in North America, Europe, Asia or China.
This allows Dryad and installers to use a single design which is made by contract manufacturer Prufrex in Germany rather than having several regional variants. The position of the sensors and the gateway is configured via a QR code that links to the GNSS position data in the smartphone of the installer rather than requiring a GNSS module in the sensor or gateway.
The NFC is included in the wireless microcontroller from STMicroelectronics with the satellite-enabled LoRa transceivers from Semtech in the satellite module .
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The sensors connect to gateways via a mesh network with LoRa to connect to 4G LTE networks if available, or direct to satellites in low earth orbit operated by EchoStar which has a suitable visit time by the satellites as notification of a fire is important to receive quickly, says Brinkschulte.
The gateways have larger solar cells at 20W, than the 450mW sensors which allows the transmission to the LoRa payloads in the satellites with four antennas on the PCB to avoid the need for external antennas. The gateways are also connected via a mesh network and are also made by Prufrex.
The company has 50 installations worldwide and expects to double this in 2024, as well as expand the existing installations.
