Technology readiness of internet of things systems for mine safety using LoRa technology and LoRaWAN networks alongside related wireless architectures in a systematic scoping review

Abstract This systematic scoping review assesses the technological maturity of Internet of Things (IoT), LoRa and Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), and related wireless architectures for mine-safety applications published from 2021 to 2025. Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR), the documented review corpus comprised 50 studies for qualitative synthesis; 40 had sufficient evidence for coding with an operational Technology Readiness Level (TRL) adaptation informed by ISO 16290:2013, and 10 were retained as contextual qualitative evidence. The structured TRL evidence synthesis is concentrated at TRL 3–6, includes one TRL 7 operational demonstration, and contains no reviewed academic study with sufficient TRL 8–9 evidence. The preserved aggregate operating-context distribution reports underground mining as predominant (32/40), with applications in environmental monitoring, worker safety, localization, connectivity, and energy management. LoRa and LoRaWAN were treated as distinct implementation layers. Long-term validation, interoperability, cybersecurity, certification, maintenance, and economic viability were inconsistently reported. These are gaps in the reviewed academic literature, not evidence that advanced or certified systems are absent from industry.