LoRa®-based Solution Won First Prize in Mexico Hackathon Aimed at Combating Poverty

Team Brainiacs from Guanajuato, Mexico won one million pesos for Nodi, a free communication service for remote communities based on Semtech LoRa® wireless RF technology


CAMARILLO, Calif., Aug. 04, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Semtech Corporation (Nasdaq:SMTC), a leading supplier of analog and mixed-signal semiconductors, announced that its LoRa® wireless RF technology for Internet of Things (IoT) applications was used in the winning solution at the Campus Party Mexico Hackathon in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico on June 27-July 1. Team Brainiacs presented its Nodi solution, which is based on LoRa wireless technology, for enabling affordable and easy-to-use text communication in remote communities.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c0562970-36c2-4290-b90d-a185ce23d460

Brainiac’s solution uses a network of LoRaWAN™ sensors to enable a solar-powered mobile device that communicates via text on an unlicensed frequency. This should give remote communities easy, free access to communication that can serve health, education, public safety, financial, environmental protection, income generation and employment, and other critical purposes. The Campus Party Mexico Hackathon aimed at combating poverty at this year’s hackathon and received over 265 viable proposals from among 20,000 attendees, which broke a Guinness World Record.

Members of the Brainiacs team were already in contact with Semtech through a series of LoRa workshops hosted in cooperation with FUMEC. Now that the team has additional prize funding, they can expand their operations and create more prototypes. In addition to winning one million pesos, the team will receive expert advice to help start and grow their company.

“LoRa gave us the ability to offer the long range communication features at reduced cost,” said Javier Dávila, team leader of the Brainiacs. “By allowing us to connect to an open, wide area network, the users in remote communities can now access basic technology resources and hopefully enjoy many benefits.”

“This use case for LoRa is particularly exciting because it solves a real-world problem with a workable solution,” said Mike Wong, Vice President of Marketing and Applications for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Product Group. “Team Brainiacs leveraged LoRa technology’s strengths and proposed a way to package it into an easy-to-use, energy efficient device that can be used by populations with limited access to essential resources.”

"We endeavor to promote projects with a global impact. The Brainiacs project represents an example of the support that FUMEC provides to startups and companies to implement innovative technologies such as LoRa creative IoT applications not just in Mexico but throughout the world," said Guillermina Avendaño, Director of Microsystem Programs at FUMEC.

Semtech’s LoRa two-way wireless technology is a comprehensive solution for low power, long-range connectivity, which is essential for LPWANs supporting IoT applications. It offers deep penetrability, secure connectivity, long battery lifetime and streamlined implementation for simple network rollout, as well as integration into existing infrastructure.

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About Semtech
Semtech Corporation is a leading supplier of analog and mixed-signal semiconductors for high-end consumer, enterprise computing, communications and industrial equipment.  Products are designed to benefit the engineering community as well as the global community. The company is dedicated to reducing the impact it, and its products, have on the environment. Internal green programs seek to reduce waste through material and manufacturing control, use of green technology and designing for resource reduction. Publicly traded since 1967, Semtech is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol SMTC. For more information, visit www.semtech.com.

About FUMEC
The United States - Mexico Foundation for Science (FUMEC) is a binational nonprofit organization created in 1993 in conjunction with the North American Free Agreement (NAFTA).  FUMEC promotes economic development based on Science, Technology and Innovation in Mexico and encourages the adoption of new technologies by Mexican companies.  For more information, visit www.fumec.org

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The photo is also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.


            
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