GeoSensor Networks and the Internet of Things
Course Contents
Today, sensors and their data are an integral part of spatial data infrastructures. Wired together using Geo Sensor Networks they are one of the main components of smart cities and smart regions. Thus, they play an important role in geodesy, construction, energy and mobility sectors, as well as in monitoring and controlling systems of the environment, agriculture, forestry and many more.
The focus of the module is to provide skills for analysis, concept development and implementation of IoT projects where data is collected using sensors, transmitted to the Internet using various network technologies and managed, visualized and analysed using open standards for Geo Sensor Networks.
The course includes an introduction to IoT hardware. Microcontrollers (Arduino, RaspberryPi), a range of sensors, actuators and indicators, and the most common protocols for communication between controllers and peripherals will be introduced. Furthermore, communication hardware and protocols of microcontrollers are discussed. The focus here is on Low Power Wide Area Network technology LoRa and the LoRaWAN protocol. For sensor data management, the basics of interoperable open standards for Geo Sensor Networks (including OGC Sensor Web Enablement and SensorThings API) will be introduced and standard compliant services and protocols will be used. In addition, methods and tools for visualization and analysis of time series data will be presented and used in the course.
The course provides a theoretical background of IoT sensor data and Geo Sensor Networks, which the students apply in practical exercises during the lectures. Throughout the semester, student groups of 2-3 students work on IoT projects - from the hardware selection up to an IoT application using sensor data collected by the hardware. The hardware for each student group is provided by us and the teams work independently. Our staff and tutors will support the student groups throughout the semester.
More details on the course, a timetable and information regarding the grading and registration are available in Schedule Summer Semester 2025.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, the students will:
- Acquire the skills to build an end-to-end IoT application to collect, transmit, manage, and analyse sensor data using open standards.
- Gain hands-on experience with IoT hardware, including microcontrollers, sensors, actuators, and indicators.
- Learn about Long Range (LoRa) technology and the Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) networking protocol for energy-efficient wireless communication in IoT.
- Understand Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards for interoperable sensor data management.
For registration information and course updates, please check the following links
Contact
For any queries regarding this course - lecture and exercise content, course dates, exam information, etc. please reach out to the following staff members.