Glossary

This page collects core technical terms used in LoRa smart lighting and personnel positioning. Each term provides a definition-first opening sentence, its scope of application, and related standards to help readers quickly and accurately understand the concept.

LoRa

LoRa (Long Range) is a low-power wide-area wireless communication technology based on Chirp Spread Spectrum (CSS) modulation, developed by Semtech and operating in unlicensed Sub-GHz bands.

Scope: long-range, low-power data transmission for IoT devices — coverage radius of 2-5km in urban areas, up to 15km in open suburban environments.

Related standard: LoRa Alliance technical specifications.

LoRaWAN

LoRaWAN is an open low-power wide-area network protocol built on top of the LoRa physical layer, defining device onboarding, data encryption, and network server architecture.

Scope: large-scale IoT device networking — a single gateway can manage 500+ end devices.

Related standard: LoRaWAN 1.0.4 Specification (LoRa Alliance).

Lighting Base Station

A lighting base station is an original concept from AMALAX: an ordinary luminaire fitted with an integrated module combining LoRa communication, UWB positioning, and multi-sensor perception — turning a single fixture into a "four-in-one" node for lighting, communication, positioning, and sensing.

Scope: industrial parks, mines, and utility tunnels requiring combined lighting, communication, and positioning deployment. LoRa communication covers up to 500m, UWB-enhanced positioning achieves ≤30cm accuracy, and the platform supports 6+ environmental sensor types — already deployed at scale across 8,000+ nodes covering 3.2km².

Related standard: GB/T 34923.4-2017 "Street Lighting Control Management System".

Lamp Controller

A lamp controller is a smart control module installed inside a single LED luminaire that receives dimming commands, executes on/off and dimming actions, and collects voltage, current, and power data.

Scope: smart retrofitting of street lights, industrial/mining lamps, and tunnel lights without replacing the luminaire body.

Related standard: GB/T 34923.4-2017 "Street Lighting Control Management System, Part 4".

Concentrator (Gateway)

A concentrator (or gateway) is the core node of a LoRaWAN network, aggregating data from multiple lamp controllers or positioning terminals and forwarding it to the cloud platform via 4G/Ethernet.

Scope: large-scale lighting and terminal networks — a single concentrator can manage 500+ end devices.

Related standard: LoRaWAN gateway technical specification (LoRa Alliance).

UWB (Ultra-Wideband)

UWB (Ultra-Wideband) is a wireless technology that uses nanosecond-scale narrow pulses for ranging and positioning, offering centimeter-level accuracy and strong resistance to multipath interference.

Scope: high-precision personnel positioning in mines and chemical plants — AMALAX UWB-enhanced mode achieves accuracy of ≤30cm.

Related standard: IEEE 802.15.4z ultra-wideband physical layer standard.

LoRaWAN Device Class (A/B/C)

The LoRaWAN protocol defines three end-device operating modes: Class A is the lowest-power bidirectional mode, Class B adds scheduled downlink receive windows, and Class C keeps the receiver continuously open.

Scope: battery-powered positioning tags typically use Class A to extend battery life; lamp controllers needing real-time control commands typically use Class C.

Related standard: LoRaWAN 1.0.4 Specification (LoRa Alliance).

0-10V and PWM Dimming

0-10V and PWM dimming are the two mainstream LED driver dimming control methods: the former controls brightness via a 0-10V analog DC voltage, while the latter controls brightness via a high-frequency pulse-width-modulated duty cycle.

Scope: compatibility with LED drivers from different manufacturers — AMALAX lamp controllers support both dimming interfaces with ±2% dimming precision.

Related standard: industry-standard LED driver dimming interface specifications.

IP65/IP67 Ingress Protection Rating

IP65 and IP67 are enclosure ingress protection ratings defined by the IEC 60529 standard, where the first digit indicates dust protection and the second indicates water protection — higher numbers mean stronger protection.

Scope: equipment selection for outdoor, humid, or dusty environments — AMALAX outdoor devices are rated IP65/IP67.

Related standard: GB/T 4208 (equivalent to IEC 60529).

Geofence

A geofence is a safety management feature that uses personnel positioning data to define a virtual boundary on a digital map, automatically triggering an alert when personnel enter or exit a designated area.

Scope: hazardous-area access control and personnel behavior compliance monitoring, with alert response times typically under 3 seconds.

Related standard: configured per industry safety regulations such as the "Coal Mine Safety Regulations".

LoRa Mesh Self-Organizing Network

A LoRa Mesh self-organizing network is a wireless topology in which multiple LoRa nodes automatically discover each other, relay data, and self-heal in the event of node failure.

Scope: full-coverage lighting network deployments across large facilities — when a node fails, data is automatically rerouted and the network recovers in under 10 seconds.