Work

An Energy-Harvesting Shield and Solar Testbed for IoT: LoRa Performance Insights and Power Measurements

Year: 2025

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: Designing firmware for energy-harvesting (EH) IoT devices requires testing under realistic and repeatable conditions, yet most simulation tools abstract away critical physical constraints, and field testing is often impractical or non-reproducible. This paper presents a two-part platform to address this challenge: (i) a modular shield for the STM32 NUCLEO development boards that integrates a solar panel, energy harvesting power management, environmental and motion sensors, GPS, and flash memory; and (ii) an indoor testbed that reproduces real-world solar irradiance using programmable dimmable lamps driven by recorded sunlight traces. Together, these tools enable reproducible experimentation on energy-aware firmware, including runtime adaptation and energy budgeting strategies. Furthermore, we analyze real-world LoRa communication performance and highlight a lesser-known phenomenon where higher spreading factors, while theoretically robust, experience signal degradation due to synchronization loss. Our platform provides a practical foundation for long-term, realistic evaluation of EH-powered IoT systems.

DOI: 10.1145/3737895.3768307

Authors: Pierpaolo Loreti, Massimiliano De Luca, Lorenzo Bracciale, Alexandro Catini, Stefano Mangione, Ilenia Tinnirello

Institutions: University of Rome Tor Vergata, National Research Council, University of Palermo

Language: English

Topic: IoT Networks and Protocols

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Affordable and clean energy

Open Access status: gold

Funder: European Commission

Awards: G706035040, G8828314804