Another key feature of LoRaWAN is its ability to support bidirectional communication. This means that an end device (sensor) can send a message to the network (i.e., sensor data, occupancy, location) as well as receive messages from the network back to the device. Thanks to this, LoRa devices can be programmed or designed to deliver status indicators to remote locations.
A good application for this bidirectional long-range capability could be indicating if a bridge has been washed out on a back-country service road or hiking trail at the trailhead, so that crews and hikers can plan a new route. A floating switch, or humidity and pressure sensors, would detect if the bridge deck was submerged in water and transmit that data to a cloud service. This service, in turn, would send a trigger signal to the sign post node, which would operate a mechanism to indicate that the bridge is out.
