LNX Solutions deployed a Long Range Wide Area Network to help support personnel and ultimately runners during the Two Oceans Marathon.
The Long Range Wide Area Network helps to overcome some of the failings of a mobile network.
The network helped enable efficient management of the event behind the scenes.
Over the last weekend, Cape Town’s Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon and Half Marathon took place and organisers leaned on state-of-the-art radio technology to keep runners safe.
That technology is Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) which is a type of low power wide area network that transmits over unlicensed frequency bands. This means the network operator isn’t paying for data but they do have to manage all aspects of the network.
Taking up that mantle for the Two Oceans was LNX Solutions.
Through its LoRaWAN solution, LNX Solutions was able to track the real-time location of teams using battery-powered internet of things (IOT) gadgets. This meant that personnel could be deployed quickly to runners who needed assistance.
In addition, the solution enabled real-time automated weather station monitoring from a control room at Tygerberg Disaster Management Centre and road closure information could be shared with the relevant authorities quickly.
LNX Solutions’ LoRaWAN infrastructure deployed above the UCT rugby fields for the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon.“To manage an event like the Two Oceans Marathon at scale, you need to know where your assets are. The radios, trackers and weather stations that operate on the LNX-supplied LoRaWAN provide peace of mind to participants, organisers and spectators. Everyone can focus on the race knowing that the appropriate data is available to handle anything from medical emergencies to crowd control issues,” explains chief executive officer of LNX Solutions, Matt Feinstein.
The CEO says that the LoRaWAN solution was chosen after trialing GSM mobile-based technologies. Unfortunately, cell-based communications failed to impress what with the twisting Capetonian roads and mountainous landscape.
“Unfortunately, cellular networks are prone to congestion and GSM – as every Capetonian has experienced – does not perform well around the curves and bends of the Cape’s landmark mountain roads like Chapman’s Peak Drive and Constantia Nek, both key to the Two Oceans awe-inspiring route,” explains Feinstein.
The company also deploys large scale tracking solutions at events such as the Cape Town Cycle Tour, the RMB Ultra Trail and the Old Mutual Double Century.
[Image – Th G from Pixabay]
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