Design and Implementation of a Low-cost Low-power Compact Node for Long Distance IoT Applications

This paper presents a low-cost, low-power IoT node that can function accurately over long distances for extended periods. The solution has been achieved by implementing data acquisition from sensors, data aggregation and communication protocols on a low-cost, ultra-low power microcontroller. The communication link is designed on a high frequency range, achieves long range of 5 km and a data rate of 2 kbps. Results are presented for power consumed and bit error rate achieved with various parameter settings of the built-in data link layer protocol and node distance from the hub. The designed IoT device is for temperature sensing and transmission while being ideally, suitable for multiple applications such as air-quality monitoring, smart agriculture, transportation, etc.