This work presents and evaluates the use of geometric parameters of the environment in the prediction of the electric field in mixed city-river type environments, employing two techniques of Machine Learning (ML) as Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Neuro-Fuzzy System (NFS). For its development, measurements were carried out in Amazon Region, Belém city, in the 521 MHz band. The input parameters for an ANN and NFS are the distance between transmitter and receiver, the distance only over the river, the height of the ground, the radius of the first Fresnel ellipsoid, and the electric field of free space. The ANN is a Multilayer Perceptron Network (MLP) that uses the Levenberg-Marquardt training algorithm and cross-validation method. The NFS is an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) that uses the model Sugeno. The results obtained compared with the classic literature models (ITU-R 1546 and Okumura-Hata) in the city for distances up 20 km and over the river for distances up 5 km. A quantitative analysis is performed between the measured and predicted data through the Standard deviation (SD), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and the Grey Relational Grade, combined with the Mean Absolute Percentage Error (GRG-MAPE). For ANN, the SD is 2.13, the RMSE is 2.11 dB, and the GRG-MAPE is 0.96. Also, for the NFS, the SD is 1.99, the RMSE is 2.06 dB, and the GRG-MAPE is 0.97. It should be noted that the transition zone between the city and the river was characterized by the proposed ANN and NFS in contrast with the classic literature models, which did not demonstrate coherence in the transition zone.

The 5G deployment brings forth the usage of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to assist wireless networks by providing improved signal coverage, acting as relays or base-stations. Another technology that could help achieve 5G massive machine-type communications (mMtc) goals is the Long Range Wide-Area Network (LoRaWAN) communication protocol. This paper studied these complementary technologies, LoRa and UAV, through measurement campaigns in suburban, densely forested environments. Downlink and uplink communication at different heights and spreading factors (SF) demonstrate distinct behavior through our analysis. Moreover, a neural network was trained to predict the measured signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) behavior and results compared with SNR regression models. For the downlink scenario, the neural network results show a root mean square error (RMSE) variation between 1.2322–1.6623 dB, with an error standard deviation (SD) less than 1.6730 dB. For the uplink, the RMSE variation was between 0.8714–1.3891 dB, with an error SD less than 1.1706 dB.

The Internet of Things (IoT) device scenario has several emerging technologies. Among them, Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWANs) have proven to be efficient connections for smart devices. These devices communicate through gateways that exchange points with the central server. This study proposes an empirical and statistical methodology based on measurements carried out in a typical scenario of Amazonian cities composed of forests and buildings on the Campus of the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) to apply an adjustment to the coefficients in the UFPA propagation model. Furthermore, an Evolutionary Particle Swarm Optimization (EPSO) metaheuristic with multi-objective optimization was applied to maximize the coverage area and minimize the number of gateways to assist in the planning of a LoRa network. The results of simulations using the Monte Carlo method show that the EPSO-based gateway placement optimization methodology can be used to plan future LPWAN networks. As reception sensitivity is a decisive factor in the coverage area, with −108 dBm, the optimal solution determined the use of three gateways to cover the smart campus area.

The presence of green areas in urbanized cities is crucial to reduce the negative impacts of urbanization. However, these areas can influence the signal quality of IoT devices that use wireless communication, such as LoRa technology. Vegetation attenuates electromagnetic waves, interfering with the data transmission between IoT devices, resulting in the need for signal propagation modeling, which considers the effect of vegetation on its propagation. In this context, this research was conducted at the Federal University of Pará, using measurements in a wooded environment composed of the Pau-Mulato species, typical of the Amazon. Two machine learning-based propagation models, GRNN and MLPNN, were developed to consider the effect of Amazonian trees on propagation, analyzing different factors, such as the transmitter’s height relative to the trunk, the beginning of foliage, and the middle of the tree canopy, as well as the LoRa spreading factor (SF) 12, and the co-polarization of the transmitter and receiver antennas. The proposed models demonstrated higher accuracy, achieving values of root mean square error (RMSE) of $3.86$ dB and standard deviation (SD) of $3.8614$ dB, respectively, compared to existing empirical models like CI, FI, Early ITU-R, COST235, Weissberger, and FITU-R. The significance of this study lies in its potential to boost wireless communications in wooded environments. Furthermore, this research contributes to enhancing more efficient and robust LoRa networks for applications in agriculture, environmental monitoring, and smart urban infrastructure.

The Amazon region wide forest extension and its limited infrastructure make it difficult to access essential services. In this context, efficient and reliable communication could reduce distances and facilitate access to these services. Considering infrastructural limitations, Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN), such as Long-Range (LoRa) networks, show promise for implementation in the region. However, it is important to understand how trees affect the propagation of electromagnetic waves to properly plan and install telecommunication services. Thus, this article aims to determine the attenuation coefficient for wooded environments in an Amazon region through a neural model. For this purpose, data were collected in a grove located at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA). The data were analyzed, and the impact of spreading factor and antenna polarizations on LoRa signal propagation was verified, with Vertical-Vertical (VV) polarization being the least affected by attenuation on average. Finally, the proposed neural model was compared with an adjusted version of the modified exponential decay model and with traditional models such as Weissberger, COST-235, ITU-R, FITU-R, ITU-R P.833-10, and Chen & Kuo. The neural model demonstrated its effectiveness, outperforming the others in all scenarios with an RMSE below 6.5 dB.

The emergence of long-range (LoRa) technology, together with the expansion of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) use in civil applications have brought significant advances to the Internet of Things (IoT) field. In this way, these technologies are used together in different scenarios, especially when it is necessary to have connectivity in remote and difficult-to-access locations, providing coverage and monitoring of greater areas. In this sense, this article seeks to determine the best positioning for the LoRa gateway coupled to the drone and the optimal spreading factor (SF) for signal transmission in a LoRa network, aiming to improve the connected devices signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), considering a suburban and densely wooded environment. Then, multi-layer perceptron (MLP) networks and generalized regression neural networks (GRNN) were trained to predict the signal behavior and determine the best network to represent this behavior. The MLP network presented the lowest RMSE, 2.41 dB, and was selected for use jointly with the bioinspired Grey-Wolf optimizer (GWO). The optimizer proved its effectiviness being able to adjust the number of UAVs used to obtain 100% coverage and determine the best SF used by the endnodes, guaranteeing a higher transmission rate and lower energy consumption.