Three Companies Win the LoRa(R) Alliance Global IoT Challenge

SAN RAMON, CA--(Marketwired - January 20, 2016) - The LoRa® Alliance, the leading technology alliance for the Internet of Things and low-power wide area networks (LPWAN), in collaboration with Machina Research, announced the finalists and the winner of the LoRa Alliance Global IoT Challenge for Innovation contest during CES. More than 150 companies around the world, including the Middle East and Africa, submitted solutions using the secure, carrier-grade LoRaWAN standard. Within the eight challenge categories, the leading application focus areas were Smart City, Supply Chain, Security and Smart Home, with an even split between business and consumer-centric use cases. The entries were all judged by the LoRa Alliance Board of Directors and Machina Research based on the set criteria: degree of innovation, overall business potential and go-to-market approach.

The award ceremony took place at the Tao Restaurant in the Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas on January 6, 2016, in front of more than 200 international attendees and press representatives. The event was sponsored by LoRa Alliance member Senet. The three finalists were introduced by Jim Morrish of Machina Research and they presented their innovative LoRaWAN solutions to the audience. Stéphane Allaire, CEO of Objenius, Bouygues Telecom, announced the winner and presented the trophies.

FIRST PLACE - Leroy Merlin, http://www.leroymerlin.com/^[1] 
Leroy Merlin, a 17 B EUR French company, is the leader in do-it-yourself retail in Europe with more than 370 stores in 12 countries. Leroy Merlin will create a relational platform with its clients based on a network of home automation gateways located in the home that will provide security/energy/home automation services. Initially, the IP connection of these numerous gateways will be backed up via a LoRaWAN based solution. The gateways will then have embedded LoRa picocells and will contribute to a LoRaWAN network covering all of the countries where Leroy Merlin distributes products. Many of the products sold by Leroy Merlin are manufactured under private label and products that need long-range communication or secure IP communications will have the embedded LoRa client. Leroy Merlin will guarantee radio coverage by partnering with a telecom operator for roaming. This operator will also provide the core network of the system.

"It is a great feeling to win the Innovation Challenge. We pride ourselves on receiving the endorsement from the Challenge jury. We hope to make this project real to provide our customers with truly innovative solutions and we thank the LoRa Alliance for enabling us to succeed in our goals," said Pierre-Yves Hadengue, Head of IoT Projects for Leroy Merlin.

SECOND PLACE - PalleTech, www.palletech.co 
^[2]At PalleTech, sensors are placed inside the central plank of a pallet to collect data about temperature, humidity, shock, drops, tilts, location, and time. Providing an integrated, end-to-end cargo visibility solution with real-time data enhances inventory management, condition monitoring, asset tracking, and security. By synchronizing the available data in the cloud, including predictive analytics, shipping and procurement optimization, and condition/location monitoring, the supply chain industry will be able to create substantial savings and enhance their overall span of control.

"Companies around the world need to know where and in what condition their cargo is. This is especially true for perishables, where Quarterly Inventory Losses plague their operations. Our solution has truly been made possible by the next generation of wireless technology. Being endorsed by the LoRa Alliance means a great lot to us and we look forward to building the next generation of supply chains with their support," said Anthony Wainman, PalleTech's CTO. 

THIRD PLACE - Gupsy, www.gupsy.com^[3]
Gupsy recognizes the need to monitor bed bugs, which cause real problems in hotels, hospitals and private homes. A number of adverse health effects may result from bed bug bites, including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptoms. It's important to discover an infestation in an early stage to make the treatment easier and to avoid the negative effects they cause. The bed bug monitor detects and attracts bed bugs, determines the number/sizes and transmits the results over LoRaWAN. The monitor can optionally be equipped with extra containers which contain several perfumes. The evaporated perfume mixture and intensity is controlled via a smartphone application.

"The competition enabled us to implement and check our many ideas with the jury and other parties. Some of these ideas will now be developed into exciting new products," said Wim Glorieux of Gupsy.

"The LoRa Alliance is clearly triggering companies and individuals to develop disruptive solutions using the LoRaWAN open standard and we were amazed by the enormous response and diversity of use cases," said Geoff Mulligan, chairman of the Alliance. "The high participation and innovation in the Challenge is a great example of how standardization and a strong ecosystem can scale technology adoption and innovation for the IoT."

For more information on LoRa Alliance, visit lora-alliance.org. White papers on the LoRaWAN and the LPWAN market are available. Follow the LoRa Alliance on social media @LoRaAlliance, YouTube and LinkedIN or talk to us and our members next month at Mobile World Congress, Booth 8.0E10 in the IoT Pavilion.

About LoRa® Alliance 
The LoRa Alliance is an open, non-profit association of members who believe that the Internet of Things era is now! Our members are collaborating together and sharing experience to drive the success of the LoRa protocol, LoRaWAN, as the open global standard for secure, carrier-grade IoT LPWA connectivity. With a certification program to guarantee interoperability and the technical flexibility to address the multiple IoT applications be they static or mobile, we believe that LoRaWAN can give all THINGS a global voice.