Exploring Practical Business Uses for the WisMesh Tag

Mesh networking devices are often talked about in the context of hobby projects, off-grid messaging or emergency communication. However, we have been increasingly interested in what these compact LoRa mesh devices could offer in practical business and deployment scenarios.

Recently, Matt has been spending some time experimenting with the WisMesh Tag from RAKwireless to explore how portable mesh networking devices might fit into real-world IoT and field deployment applications.

Rather than approaching it as a messaging gadget, we wanted to look at it from a deployment and operations perspective.

Why Mesh Networking Is Interesting

Traditional communication systems usually rely on fixed infrastructure:

• mobile networks

• Wi-Fi

• Ethernet

• installed gateways

Mesh networking changes that slightly. Each device can help relay messages and data through the network, allowing communication to continue even where conventional infrastructure is limited, unavailable or impractical. For remote or temporary deployments, that opens up some interesting possibilities.

First Impressions of the WisMesh Tag

So far, one of the most interesting aspects has been how quickly a working mesh network can be created without relying on existing infrastructure or mobile coverage.

The WisMesh Tag combines:

• LoRa long-range communication

• GPS location

• portable battery-powered operation

• compact form factor

• infrastructure-independent communication

in a surprisingly small device.

The portability is particularly interesting from a deployment perspective. Instead of needing fixed infrastructure or complicated setup, devices can simply be carried, positioned or temporarily deployed where needed.

Potential Business and Deployment Uses

At this early stage, we are already seeing several possible real-world applications worth exploring further.

Temporary Site Coordination

Construction sites, temporary works, event infrastructure or survey teams may benefit from lightweight communications that do not require permanent networking infrastructure.

Lone Worker Awareness

GPS-enabled mesh devices may provide useful location awareness for workers operating in remote or distributed environments.

Infrastructure Inspection

Field engineers carrying portable mesh devices could potentially maintain lightweight communications across infrastructure inspection routes or remote assets.

Environmental and Monitoring Deployments

Portable mesh networking could also have applications in environmental sensing, temporary monitoring setups or rapid-deploy telemetry systems.

Remote and Off-Grid Locations

In areas where mobile coverage is poor or existing networking infrastructure is unavailable, mesh networking becomes much more interesting from a practical operations standpoint.

Still Early Days

At this stage, we are still experimenting. One of the things we want to avoid is making big claims before properly testing devices in real-world conditions. Early observations are encouraging, but there is still plenty more we want to explore.

Some of the next areas we will be looking at include:

• battery life in practical usage

• portability during field use

• antenna and range performance

• reliability in different environments

• deployment practicality for business use

So far though, the WisMesh Tag is already generating some interesting ideas around lightweight, rapidly deployable communications and monitoring systems. We will share more findings as testing continues.