Cellular Gateway + LoRa Networking: A 10-Kilometer Coverage IoT Solution for Agricultural Irrigation—Revolutionizing the "Last Mile" of Irrigation Challenges with Technology
On the Gobi Desert in Aksu, Xinjiang, a 5,000-acre cotton field is undergoing a digital transformation. In the past, irrigation relied on manual field inspections, requiring checks of pumps and valves every two hours. During sandstorms or extreme heat, inspection efficiency plummeted. Today, through the combination of the USR-M300 cellular gateway and LoRa wireless sensors, the cotton field is divided into 20 irrigation zones, each equipped with soil moisture sensors, flow meters, and solenoid valves. Data is transmitted via a LoRa network to a control center 10 kilometers away. When sensors detect soil moisture below a threshold, the gateway automatically activates the pump and opens the corresponding valve via LoRa commands, enabling "demand-based irrigation." This solution not only addresses the challenge of no public network signals in the Gobi Desert but also reduces irrigation water usage by 40% and increases cotton yield per acre by 25%.
Signal blind spots: 40% of China's farmland is located in remote mountainous areas or the Gobi Desert, with less than 30% public network coverage. IoT devices relying on 4G/5G frequently disconnect.
High wiring costs: Wired sensors require laying cables or fiber optics, costing over RMB 10,000 per kilometer and are prone to damage from agricultural machinery.
High maintenance difficulty: Manual field inspections require traversing rugged terrain, taking over three hours per inspection. Delayed fault responses lead to crop losses.
Large-scale farms: Farms like grasslands in Inner Mongolia or black soil planting bases in Northeast China, with single plots exceeding 10,000 acres, require long-distance data transmission.
Complex terrain areas: Mountainous terraced fields or hilly orchards with dispersed sensor distributions, where traditional wireless technologies fall short in coverage.
Areas without public networks: Extreme environments like deserts, sandy areas, and plateaus rely on self-organizing networks for device interconnection.
LoRa (Long Range) is a low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) protocol based on spread spectrum technology, offering three core advantages:
Ultra-long coverage: Transmission distances up to 15 kilometers in open environments with strong penetration, capable of passing through three layers of concrete walls.
Low power consumption: A single battery can support sensor operation for 5-10 years, reducing the cost of frequent battery replacements.
High capacity: A single gateway can connect thousands of nodes, meeting the monitoring needs of large-scale farmland.
The USR-M300 cellular gateway supports over 20 protocols, including LoRaWAN, Modbus TCP/RTU, RS485, and CAN bus, allowing simultaneous connection to sensors and actuators from different manufacturers. For example, in a grape plantation in Gansu, the gateway connects soil moisture sensors via LoRa, fertilization pumps via Modbus RTU, and weather stations via CAN bus, uploading all data in JSON format to the cloud for "unified network management."
Irrigation decisions require real-time responsiveness. If instructions are only issued after data is uploaded to the cloud when soil moisture falls below the wilting coefficient, crops may already be damaged. The USR-M300 is equipped with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, supporting localized edge computing and running lightweight AI models. In a goji berry base in Ningxia, the gateway deploys a decision tree algorithm to automatically adjust irrigation strategies based on soil moisture, light intensity, and goji growth stages (flowering/fruiting), reducing irrigation response time from minutes to seconds.
Agricultural scenarios present complex environmental challenges, including high temperatures, humidity, sand, dust, and lightning. The USR-M300 features industrial-grade design:
Wide temperature operation: Supports environments from -40°C to 85°C, adapting to Gobi heat and Northeast cold.
IP65 protection: Dustproof and waterproof, withstanding sandstorms and heavy rain.
Electromagnetic compatibility: Passes IEC 61000-4 standard testing, resistant to lightning and static interference.
Perception layer: Deploys LoRa soil moisture sensors, flow meters, water level gauges, solenoid valves, and other devices to collect real-time irrigation data.
Network layer: The USR-M300 cellular gateway acts as a LoRa gateway, receiving sensor data and forwarding it to the cloud while issuing control commands.
Application layer: Enables irrigation strategy configuration, device status monitoring, and historical data querying via cloud platforms or local HMI (human-machine interfaces).
Spread spectrum technology: Expands the signal bandwidth to 125kHz, enhancing anti-interference capabilities for stable transmission even in electromagnetic-complex farmland.
Frequency hopping communication: Automatically switches working frequency points to avoid same-frequency interference, ensuring data transmission reliability. In a coffee plantation in Yunnan, the gateway used frequency hopping to resolve signal attenuation caused by multipath effects in mountainous areas, improving data transmission success rates to 99.2%.
Terrain mapping: After submitting a terrain map, a professional team analyzes topographical undulations and obstacle distributions to plan optimal gateway and sensor deployment locations.
Signal testing: Uses portable LoRa testers to simulate data transmission, verifying coverage range and signal strength.
Dynamic optimization: Adjusts gateway transmission power and sensor reporting frequency based on actual operational data, balancing power consumption and real-time responsiveness.
Challenge: The pasture spans 20,000 acres with 300 water level gauges and 200 solenoid valve sets dispersed across the area. Traditional solutions required laying 50 kilometers of cables, costing over RMB 1 million.
Solution: Deployed three USR-M300 cellular gateways (each covering 5 kilometers) to connect all devices via LoRa. The gateways upload water level data to the cloud and automatically activate pumps and open corresponding valves when levels fall below thresholds.
Outcome: Reduced wiring costs by 90%, improved irrigation uniformity by 35%, and increased forage yield by 18%.
Challenge: The tea plantation is located at an altitude of 1,200 meters with weak public network signals and significant topographical variations, making traditional wireless solutions insufficient in coverage.
Solution: Deployed a USR-M300 gateway at the mountaintop with LoRa soil moisture sensors and drip irrigation valves within the plantation. The gateway is solar-powered, transmitting data via LoRa to a control center 10 kilometers away.
Outcome: Achieved "precise slope irrigation," saving 50% of water and increasing tea amino acid content by 1.2%.
Challenge: The base grows over 10 fruit types, including mangoes and dragon fruits, requiring zoned irrigation based on different crop needs. Summer heat and humidity often caused equipment failures.
Solution: The USR-M300 gateway integrated temperature and humidity monitoring modules to track device operating environments. When temperatures exceeded 60°C, cooling fans activated automatically. LoRa enabled "one-valve-one-control" to meet diverse irrigation demands.
Outcome: Reduced equipment failure rates by 80%, increased fruit sugar content by 0.8°, and raised premium fruit rates to 92%.
To help agricultural enterprises quickly implement 10-kilometer coverage irrigation IoT projects, we offer the following free services:
Service: Terrain Analysis and Coverage Assessment Report
Submission: Click the button to fill in enterprise name, contact person, contact information, farmland type (plain/mountain/Gobi), area, main crop types, and upload a terrain map (CAD file or satellite image screenshot).
Output: Within three working days, provide a "10-Kilometer Coverage Irrigation Solution Assessment Report," including:
Gateway and sensor deployment location maps;
Signal coverage heatmaps;
Equipment lists and budget estimates;
Expected water savings and yield increase analyses.
The digitization of agricultural irrigation essentially involves "replacing experience with data and manual labor with intelligence." The combination of the USR-M300 cellular gateway and LoRa technology not only resolves signal coverage challenges in remote farmland but also shifts irrigation decision-making from "passive response" to "proactive prediction" through edge computing and multi-protocol integration. Submit your terrain map now to receive your 10-kilometer coverage irrigation IoT solution, empowering every inch of land with smart technology!
