🌾 Building a LoRa-Based IoT System for Smart Farming: Choosing the Right Operating Systems
In the era of smart agriculture, LoRa-based IoT systems are revolutionizing the way farms are managed—offering real-time monitoring, efficient water usage, and better crop care. In our precision farming project, we built a system that integrates temperature, humidity, and water flow sensors, all communicating over long distances using LoRa technology. A key decision in this setup? Choosing the right operating systems for different components.
🔹 Sensor Nodes (ESP32 + LoRa + Sensors)
Each field sensor unit is powered by an ESP32 microcontroller connected to LoRa. To ensure power efficiency, multitasking, and real-time performance, we used FreeRTOS, a lightweight Real-Time Operating System that comes built into Espressif’s ESP-IDF development framework.
Why FreeRTOS?
- Allows simultaneous handling of sensor reading and LoRa communication.
- Supports power-saving modes—crucial for battery-powered nodes.
- Enables reliable scheduling and low-latency task execution.
Alternative for Beginners: Arduino framework (simple but limited multitasking).
🔹 Gateway Device (Raspberry Pi + LoRa Hat)
Data from the nodes is collected by a Raspberry Pi acting as a LoRaWAN gateway. For this, we used Raspberry Pi OS, a Debian-based Linux distribution. It supports LoRaWAN server stacks like ChirpStack or The Things Stack, helping us manage and route sensor data to the cloud or a local dashboard.
Why Raspberry Pi OS?
- Lightweight and optimized for Pi hardware.
- Easy to configure network services and packet forwarding.
- Compatible with common LoRa concentrator hats.
🔹 Cloud or Central Server (Data Storage & Visualization)
If you’re hosting your own dashboard or cloud-based server, we recommend Ubuntu Server 20.04+. It provides stability, security, and compatibility with modern IoT dashboards, MQTT brokers, and databases like InfluxDB or PostgreSQL.
✅ Final Setup Summary
| Component | Hardware | Operating System |
|---|---|---|
| Sensor Nodes | ESP32 | FreeRTOS (ESP-IDF) |
| Gateway Device | Raspberry Pi | Raspberry Pi OS |
| Cloud/Server | PC/Cloud VPS | Ubuntu Server |
🛠️ Takeaway
By carefully selecting the right operating systems for each layer—FreeRTOS for microcontroller nodes, Raspberry Pi OS for the gateway, and Ubuntu Server for data handling—you create a robust, scalable, and energy-efficient smart farming system.