LoRa Gateway Placement Optimization Based on a Data- Driven Low Height Path Loss Model

The development of long-range (LoRa) communication technology has led to its adoption in low-height networks, where the radio links must operate at ground level (e.g., for smart irrigation networks, smart metering networks, suburban areas, and wildlife tracking systems). In this work, a modified low height LoRa path loss model based on real-world measurements is proposed along with a novel optimization approach for planning ultra-low height networks, where the radio attenuation rate and gateway placement optimization problem are investigated in details. Accordingly, a dynamic programming (DP) algorithm is developed, and its performance is evaluated in a case study based on a practical smart irrigation system for a golf course with a star-topology LoRa network.