Time-Allocation Adaptive Data Rate: An Innovative Time-Managed Algorithm for Enhanced Long-Range Wide-Area Network Performance

Abstract

Currently, a variety of Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) technologies offer diverse solutions for long-distance communication. Among these, Long-Range Wide-Area Network (LoRaWAN) has garnered considerable attention for its widespread applications in the Internet of Things (IoT). Nevertheless, LoRaWAN still faces the challenge of channel collisions when managing dense node communications, a significant bottleneck to its performance. Addressing this issue, this study has developed a novel “time allocation adaptive Data Rate” (TA-ADR) algorithm for network servers. This algorithm dynamically adjusts the spreading factor (SF) and transmission power (TP) of LoRa (Long Range) nodes and intelligently schedules transmission times, effectively reducing the risk of data collisions on the same frequency channel and significantly enhancing data transmission efficiency. Simulations in a dense LoRaWAN network environment, encompassing 1000 nodes within a 480 m × 480 m range, demonstrate that compared to the ADR+ algorithm, our proposed algorithm achieves substantial improvements of approximately 30.35% in data transmission rate, 24.57% in energy consumption, and 31.25% in average network throughput.