How to Leverage the Latest Release of AWS IoT Core Device Location Featuring LoRa Edge™

AWS IoT Core Device Location, launched in Nov 2022, makes it possible for customers to track and manage IoT devices using their location data, such as latitude and longitude coordinates.  

With this feature of AWS IoT, customers can choose the appropriate location technology that works within their business and engineering constraints, without relying on high-power consuming GPS hardware. Customers can further integrate the resolved latitude and longitude in their downstream application. 

This AWS feature is based on a multi-technology location solver which, when combined with devices using Semtech’s LoRa Edge™ family of chips, enable ultra-low power geolocation solutions.   

In the newest release (September 2023) of AWS IoT Core Device Location, AWS announced support for the latest improvement of Semtech’s LoRa Edge Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology. For OEMs and solution providers, it translates into: 

• Increased GNSS accuracy, up to 2x better 

• Improvement in the solver success rate 

Complementing its GNSS scanning capabilities, LoRa Edge offers very low power Wi-Fi scanning, thereby making it an extremely appealing choice for tracking devices both indoor and outdoor, with battery lifespans reaching up to 10 years. 

OEMs and Solutions 

LoRa Edge technology enables OEMs like Tektelic and Seeed to develop tracking devices for a variety of use cases from wearable badges with alert buttons to industrial trackers targeting logistics and supply chain management. Now, with the AWS announcement, these devices will benefit from a seamless connection to AWS IoT Core Device Location reducing time to market. Solutions can be further enhanced by combining with other AWS services such as Amazon Location Service for asset tracking or geofencing solutions like the one depicted in the below diagram. 

Getting Started 

To use the new version of the feature, indicate that your device should activate its positioning and confirm the port used for device management. This will ensure that the solver will properly handle the uplinks coming from the device. Refer to the below screenshot of AWS IoT console for details:

Once you configure your device to activate positioning, AWS IoT Core for LoRaWAN will automatically invoke the solver whenever it detects traffic on the relevant ports. This will result in the latitude and longitude being available on a destination that the user can configure and connect to any of the downstream services supported by AWS IoT Core’s Rules Engine. In short, it allows for a no-code solution to be implemented in minutes. 

This new release of AWS IoT Core Device location supporting the latest LoRa Edge technology is now available. To start using it, visit the AWS IoT Console or the corresponding APIs to compute the latitude and longitude of a tracker device. 

Please visit AWS IoT Core Device Location - AWS IoT Core (amazon.com) for additional information on the feature and Configuring position of LoRaWAN devices - AWS IoT Core (amazon.com) for specific details on how to leverage it in the context of LoRaWAN® connected devices.