IoT-based Hybrid Wireless Network for Tourist Boat Tracking towards Smart Cities

Moving and transporting by canoe and boat on rivers and canals is a cultural feature of the Mekong Delta and plays an important role in the economy and society. However, the management and use of equipment to support the monitoring of waterway transport vehicles in this area has yet to receive adequate investment and attention. Given the complicated evolution of the COVID-19 epidemic, it is critical to strengthen oversight of inland waterway management, as well as freight and passenger transportation. This paper presents the design and implementation of an IoT-based support system for managing and monitoring passenger ships and tourism activities in smart cities. This study proposes a hybrid wireless communication network solution that takes advantage of the strengths of LoRa and Zigbee wireless communication technologies, as well as telecommunication networks, to ensure that the system has a wide operating range of several kilometers, low power consumption, and can be deployed in areas where telecommunications are not available. Aside from tracking the journey and managing information about vehicles, drivers, and passengers, the system also aids in the collection of environmental parameters along river routes according to the travel route. An experimental evaluation of the system's operation was carried out for the tourist boat route between two famous tourist sites, Ninh Kieu Key and Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho city, Vietnam.