Provide up to 10km of abundant connectivity yourself.
Small, easy to install router between the LoRa-enabeled things and the internet. Help build a global Internet of Things Network!
get the things gatewayAn interactive experience. Learn about LoRaWAN, a new protocol for the Internet of Things and how The Things Network, a community-powered and distributed network, can help you leverage it.
Wienke Giezeman Founder, The Things NetworkTraditional connectivity methods are like a pager, LoRaWAN is like the first mobile phone.
Introduction
Internet of Things is transforming the everyday physical objects that surround us into an ecosystem of information that will enrich our lives.
From refrigerators to parking spaces to houses, the Internet of Things is bringing more and more things into the digital fold every day, which will likely make the Internet of Things a multi-trillion dollar industry in the near future.
Protocols
Internet of Things is powered by its connectivity protocols.
WiFi
WiFi connectivity is often an obvious choice for many developers, especially given the pervasiveness of WiFi within the home environment within LANs.
40-50 meters range
Pros
- High bandwith
Cons
- Expensive
Example use cases
- Real-time data streaming
Zigbee
ZigBee does not focus on point-to-point communication, such as Bluetooth, where one high-powered device sends data to another high-powered device over a short range, but it operates in a mesh network, which is why it's good for the smart home.
10-20 meters range
Pros
- Low power
Cons
- It needs a smart hub to control it
Example use cases
- Controlling lights in your house
3G/4G
Broadband celluar network technology.
2.000-3.000 meters range
Pros
- High bandwith
Cons
- High power usage
- Expensive
Example use cases
- Drones
LoRaWAN
It is designed to allow low-powered devices to communicate with Internet-connected applications over long range wireless connections.
10.000-12.000 meters range
Pros
- Low power — can last month or even years
- Low cost
- Secure (128bit end-to-end encrypted)
Cons
- Low bandwidth
Example use cases
- Smart agriculture
- Parking sensors
The Things Network
LoRaWAN gateway (up to 10km range)
25,682 gateways placed by the people
Imagine an Internet of Things network build around LoRaWAN that is created by the people and open for everyone to use.
In 2015, as a proof of concept the city of Amsterdam was fully covered in just four weeks. However, initially setting up a LoRa network was expensive and required a lot of effort.
The Things Network community then went on a mission to crowdsource a global open and independent Internet Of Things network — and they did.
How it works
Registered devices to your TTN account intermittently send encrypted data over LoRaWAN.
The Things Network supports any certified LoRaWAN device.
To connect a device it needs to have a LoRaWAN module, either on board, as a shield or wired. Most modules can be talked to via a serial interface. To hide you from the complexity of the commands and responses, some modules come with an SDK (software development kit).
Steps to use a device over The Things Network:
- Create an account
- Register with an application to communicate with
- Register your device
- Setup code & environment variables
- Send data over LoRaWAN to your integration or application!
| The Things Uno | |
|---|---|
| Digital I/O channels | 20 |
| PWM channels | 7 |
| Analog input channels | 12 |
| DC current per I/O | 40 mA |
| DC current 3.3V pin | 50 mA |
| Flash memory | 32 KB (- reserved bootloader space) |
| SRAM (static RAM) | 2.5 KB |
| EEPROM | 1 KB |
| Clock Speed | 16 MHz |
| Operating Frequencies | 433 MHz en 868 MHz |
| Receiving sensitivity | up to -148 dBm |
| Transmitting power | adjustable to +14 dBm |
| Modulation | LoRaWAN |
| Range | 10km coverage at suburban, 5 km coverage at urban area |
Developers are using The Things Network’s tools and open network to build all kinds of value driving applications.
Cow tracking
Equipped with a powerful microcontroller, our SODAQ Cattle Tracker is LoRaWAN based device. The board is using the ublox Eva 8m GPS module, giving it a GPS fix within seconds. It can stay in (deep) sleep mode until it moves. A LED light shows the status of the board through the waterproof casing of the tracker.
Distributed and community driven gateways, powered by Ethernet/WiFi, provide up to 10km of LoRaWAN coverage.
Our network is built by you — the people. You can contribute by placing a gateway and expand our network. The more gateways are placed, the larger the coverage.
The Things Gateway enables devices such as sensors and embedded computers to connect to the internet. With an easy to connect process, you are creating the most substantial aspect of your IoT data network. Activate the gateway in just 5 minutes and create your own local network. With the capacity to serve thousands of nodes, the gateway is the main building block of your connected network.
| The Things Gateway | |
|---|---|
| Setup | Your own LoRaWAN network in as little as 5 minutes |
| Connection | Connects easily to your WiFi or Ethernet |
| Range | Up to 10 km (6 miles) |
| Integrations | Easy cloud integration with popular IoT platforms |
| Standards | Open source hardware and software |
| XBEE | Slot for future connectivity protocols or homebrew add-ons |
| Security | HTTPS connection and embedded encryption in the LoRaWAN protocol |
| Load | Can serve thousands of nodes (depending on traffic) |
Global recieved data packets (uplinks/downlinks) by gateways from The Things Network
Devices send encrypted data to gateways over LoRaWAN, these are called uplinks.
Applications can respond or send data to a device, these are called downlinks.
You can setup your device to be more reliable or faster and there are three knobs you can turn to influence how you send data.
Bandwidth + spreading factor = bits/s.
The bandwith is determined by the region but setting the spreading factor makes it possible to still achieve all possible data rates.
The backend systems of The Things Network are responsible for routing your encrypted data between devices and applications.
Your are in control of your data with privacy through end-to-end encryption.
A typical Internet of Things network requires gateways as a bridge between specific radio protocols and the Internet. In cases where the devices themselves support the IP stack, these gateways only have to forward packets to the Internet.
Non-IP protocols such as LoRaWAN require some form of routing and processing before messages can be delivered to an application. The Things Network is positioned between the gateways and the applications and takes care of these routing and processing steps.
The application of your choosing.
The Things Network Stack is designed as a LoRaWAN solution to be integrated in applications, using industry standard protocols.
There are multiple options to integrate applications with The Things Network, ranging from working directly with APIs, via more friendly SDKs or click- and-run Platform Integrations.
Platform Integrations are full integrations with external IoT platforms to synchronize the device registry and uplink and downlink data, so you don’t need to write code or use The Things Network Console. External IoT platform are for example Azure IoT Hub, AWS IoT and IBM Watson IoT, where the user manages application and devices while the integration process takes care of synchronizing with The Things Network.
You are the network
We believe in enabling businesses and applications to flourish to their potential, by creating abundant connectivity. We enable this through a open and distributed network with low battery usage, long range, and low bandwidth.
Build your proof of concept in a day.
The fastest way to get started with LoRaWAN.
get the things uno quick startSpread the word, share the knowledge.
The Things Network has a strong close knit communities present around the world who partake in meetups and network expansion together.
start or join a community