Semtech Corp., supplier of high performance analog and mixed signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms, announced that Polysense Technologies has built Semtech’s LoRa devices and wireless radio frequency technology (LoRa Technology) into its Structure Health Monitoring (SHM) system to enable remote and real-time monitoring of building structure safety and integrity.
Polysense’s SHM system consists of various LoRa-based IoT sensors, a LoRa-based gateway, and a proprietary Cloud-based data management platform.
A four to six-story building is equipped with an end-to-end solution consisting of several sensors on the walls and roof to measure building surface wall crack growth, tilt and vibration, and often a soil moisture sensor to monitor water saturation at the building’s foundation, at a fractional cost of the traditional wired solution or human inspection. Typically, one gateway is used per residential complex.
Additionally, Polysense provides the LoRaWAN-based network and mobile applications for real-time monitoring of building status.
Polysense recently partnered with AEIDO, a Chinese company offering structural safety inspections, certification, and monitoring services, to roll out hundreds of SHM systems in Shaoxing, a city on China’s east coast which is particularly vulnerable to the elements.
Semtech’s LoRa devices and wireless radio frequency technology is a widely adopted long-range, low-power solution for IoT that gives telecom companies, IoT application makers and system integrators the feature set necessary to deploy low-cost, interoperable IoT networks, gateways, sensors, module products, and IoT services worldwide.
IoT networks based on the LoRaWAN specification have been deployed in 100 countries and Semtech is a founding member of the LoRa Alliance, the fastest growing IoT Alliance for Low Power Wide Area Network applications.
“With LoRa-based wireless sensors and gateways, we can get a building connected within a couple of hours by eliminating the need for power wiring installation. In comparison, a wired solution could take around a week to install,” said Will H. Yu, Director of IoT solutions at Polysense Technologies. “The key for us is to utilize the power of IoT to solve real problems. With our SHM solution, resource issues are properly addressed, while, most importantly, providing urgent information to protect citizens from danger. LoRa Technology is a perfect marriage for sensing and data analytics solutions.”
“Semtech’s LoRa Technology offers flexibility and easy deployment into a wide range of infrastructure, both old and new,” said Vivek Mohan, Director of IoT for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group. “Scalable by increasing the number of gateways, solutions built on LoRa Technology can cover the tallest skyscrapers and sprawling campuses. LoRa Technology and the IoT are working to create safer buildings, cities and a smarter planet.”
