Thiruvananthapuram: The International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS), Kerala, plans to set up LoRaWAN in select engineering and polytechnic colleges in the state with a view to promoting study and research in Internet of Things (IoT).
The ICFOSS, an initiative of the state Department of Electronics and Information Technology, is expected to boost student startups in developing ready-to-market IoT solutions through the project.
ICFOSS has a FOSS incubator, which is used by startups in their applied R&D efforts.
LoRaWAN is a low power, wide area (LPWA) networking protocol designed to wirelessly connect battery-operated things to the internet in regional, national or global networks.
It targets key IoT requirements such as bi-directional communication, end-to-end security, mobility and localisation services, a press release said.
ICFOSS would work with select engineering and polytechnic colleges to establish LoRaWAN gateways on their respective campuses.
It would also work with students and academicians to help them learn and practice open source IoT.
The participating institutes would be provided with LoRaWAN in a box kit developed by ICFOSS, which consists of a LoRaWAN gateway, nodes, network and application servers and different sensors.
The concept formulated by ICFOSS open IoT team is expected to give a big thrust to evolution of solutions in compliance with sustainable development goals (SDG).
ICFOSS is a part of LoRa Alliance, a global non-profit agency working on creating compliance for LoRaWAN as well as its promotion.