Alibaba Cloud thinks that for customers to benefit from cloud computing fully, computing must be available around, from the Internet of Things (IoT) to the Internet of Beings (IoB). Because of the quickening pace of the Internet of Business revolution brought on by IoT technologies, Alibaba Group has made IoT a focal point of its research and development efforts.

Ding Xianfeng (Sean Ding), the chief IoT scientist at Alibaba Cloud, spoke on the organization and strategy of Alibaba Cloud IoT in the IoB era from three perspectives: the installation of airborne IoT of Alibaba Cloud, Operation Darwin, and edge computing, at the main forum of the Computing Conference in Hangzhou on September 19, 2018.

Creation of an Enterprise IoT Network with LoRa

Alibaba Cloud describes the potential of LoRawan in this manner. Ding demonstrated how this enterprise-level IoT was developed using LoRawan by using Cainiao Park as an example.

The Cainiao Park IoT project addressed the following challenges and difficulties:

20,000 Square meters is a sizable space.

Many things are built up to prevent wireless signals from being sent.

Various connected equipment makes up dense nodes, including sensors, controllers, and product stacking detectors.

Ultimately, Cainiao upgraded and transformed its park with an area of 200,000 square meters into an intelligent garden using only four LoRawan tiny base stations. This was done with the use of low-power wide-area IoT technology.

In reality, the IoT sector frequently faces challenges that are more challenging than those in Cainiao Park, such as connecting to underground warehouses or covering a forest, desert, or grassland. The next thing Ding stated was the launching of the airborne IoT of Alibaba Cloud, an eye-catching centerpiece of this Computing Conference. It is capable of resolving every extreme issue in the previous severe cases.

Ding then instructed the ground gateway to be shut off. The enormous screen’s display of device heartbeat packets acquired from sensors eventually vanished. IoT gadgets were all unplugged.

Ding then gave the order to the airship’s LoRa gateway to turn on. Signals from the airship were readily connected to local IoT devices. The LoRa gateway-connected sensors recommenced sending heartbeat packets. Things were reconnected, and data was recalculated.

The LoRa gateway for the airborne IoT solution is installed aboard an airship. This approach can effectively overcome the challenge of signal coverage and accomplish mobility across a broad area. As is well known, a 700 square kilometer region can be covered by a coverage radius of up to 15 kilometers. The solution also offers a cruise option. A blimp in East Africa can sustain the IoT connection once every 24 hours when it flies over a patch of grassland.

Ding next showed off a scenario in which a Cainiao uncrewed vehicle delivered a package to a user waiting in a parking lot 20 meters below the earth. Signals on the screen indicated that the user had received the box appropriately. The data panel at the main forum quickly displayed that the parcel had been opened as soon as the user unpacked it.

Operation Darwin seeks to make available to the general public the IP chip module, low-cost micro base station, and Airborne IoT of Alibaba Cloud solution to address all IoT project challenges worldwide.

Alibaba Cloud IoT has built a LoRa ecosystem that includes chips, modules, IoT gateways, management platforms, network carriers, application providers, and third-party service providers. These technologies are combined with Alibaba Cloud IoT to offer a comprehensive solution. Ding announced the release of two Operation Darwin capabilities there.

The single-chip ASR6501, which has a very tiny size, full band coverage, and integration with the ultra-low-power LoRa SX1262, was introduced by Alibaba Cloud and ASR Microelectronics. This chip can be tightly integrated with LoRaWAN?, Link WAN, and AliOS Things to simplify IoT network management.

The solution lets the production line become intelligent through cloud computing to raise product quality by 5%, efficiency by 20%, and individual effectiveness by 15%. Alibaba Cloud has created an integrated cloud-edge-device IoT infrastructure to achieve this. Chongqing Refine-Yumei Die Casting Co., Ltd. is currently at the forefront of using this technology and turning a profit.

Conclusion

IoT has taken center stage in Alibaba Group’s research and development initiatives. Sean Ding, the chief IoT scientist, provided an example of how this enterprise-level IoT was created utilizing LoRa. With just four LoRa base stations, Cainiao Park went from 200,000 square meters to an intelligent park. An airship has a LoRa gateway installed for the airborne IoT solution. The IoT link can be maintained by a blimp in East Africa once every 24 hours. Chongqing Refine-Yumei Die Casting Co. Ltd. is currently at the forefront of applying this technology.

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