Implementation of a Meshtastic Gateway System With a Local Database for Iot Applications

Abstract

This paper presents a system for reliable collection, filtering, and processing of data from a LoRa Meshtastic decentralized network, developed for use in remote areas with weak or no mobile network coverage. The core idea stems from the need to enable efficient exchange of small data packets at intervals, without relying on expensive and often unavailable internet infrastructure. The key innovation lies in the implementation of the Meshtastic gateway concept, which provides internet access via HTTP requests, while the developed database model ensures continuity and reliability of data transmission. Data arriving in the network as unstructured messages are extracted using regular expressions, transformed into JSON format, and sent to the visualization platform Grafana, while simultaneously being stored in a local database for later queries, research, and analysis. The system’s reliability is further enhanced by introducing a two-layer acknowledgment mechanism (Meshtastic ACK_APP and remote API application-level ACK), as well as an offline mode that logs undelivered messages and their causes through flags and error records. This ensures resilience to data loss and enables seamless operation continuation after connection interruptions.