LoRaWAN-connected linear actuator: design and testing

The need: actuate, not just measure

Plenty of sensors exist for agriculture today. Very few actuators, on the other hand, are on the market — even though the need is at least as great: opening a hatch, a valve, a shutter, without travelling to the spot. For this agricultural context, the communication technology chosen is LoRaWAN: long range, low power. The specification: a multi-purpose actuator, energy-autonomous, running on LoRaWAN.

The solution: a 12 V actuator controlled by radio

FURGO designed a 12 V electric linear actuator remotely controlled over a self-hosted LoRaWAN network. The device runs in class A with OTAA activation: the open or close command is sent by downlink, and the embedded code manages the actuator’s different states. The whole system is driven from a home-automation interface.

On the hardware side, the design office produced the control electronics and a housing designed in 3D then manufactured, which holds the electronics and mounts on the actuator body. Comparing the 3D model with the actual prototype validated the mechanical design.

What the tests verified

The prototype went through two test campaigns:

• In the lab: radio communication, mechanical power (open and close cycles under load), battery life.
• Outdoors: communication range in real conditions, durability against the weather, battery life over the long run.

This project gave FURGO command of the full chain of a LoRaWAN actuator: receiving downlinks, state management, motor drive and home-automation integration. A reusable building block for other remote actuation needs on the farm — the design office can adapt it to your case.