Design and implementation of a Wireless M-bus - LoRa gateway for remote water consumption metering

The goal of this thesis is the design and implementation of an interface able to connect to a LoRa network a set of water meters equipped with a Wireless M-Bus radio module. In the future, thanks to this gateway, it could be possible to acquire the meter's readings from remote, without direct human interaction on each measurement device. This thesis took place in the framework of a collaboration between the SMAT (Società Municipale Acque Torino) and the iXem Laboratory inside the Politecnico di Torino. The water meters in use during the tests were provided by the municipal company, whereas the laboratory and electronic equipment used are iXem's and Politecnico's property. The architecture of the designed system links the water meters to the final application server, through a Wireless M-Bus and then a LoRaWAN network. In the middle of this interconnection the gateway works as a translator both of frequency and protocol. The final elaborate is subdivided into three main blocks: · WM-Bus block: Description of the basics of the Wireless M–Bus communication theory, underlining the specifications used. Illustration of the water meters and the transceivers taken into account during the design. Evaluation boards range measurement (chapters 1 to 3). · LoRa block: Description of the basics of LoRa communication theory, the transceiver and the evaluation board used (chapter 4). · Prototypes block: Description of the prototypes developed: by interconnection of the evaluation boards and with the design of a PCB. Further possible improvements(chapters 5 to 7).