Tests show the different sides of Sidewalk
Summary
This extends the capabilities of Sidewalk into sectors such as commercial agriculture: Based on sensor data, farmers can derive better estimates for the optimal amounts of irrigation, fertilisers and pesticides for their crops. This type of operation relies on the device’s core processor and RF subsystem waking up at regular intervals to confirm it is still present on the network, even if it does not have any data to send. If the device can sleep for long periods, perhaps measured in minutes before attempting to contact a gateway that is in range, energy consumption can easily be much lower. To ensure an accurate assessment of range, Silicon Labs engineers conducted the tests in an urban environment with only one long-range FSK or CSS gateway in use at a time. The results of such tests also underpin the importance of working with IoT technology suppliers who have taken the time to understand the ramifications of these different modes and who are ready to help at every step of development, integration and early deployment.