Efficient, Single Hop Time Synchronization Protocol For Randomly Connected WSNs

TL;DR

This paper introduces a fast, accurate, and energy-efficient single-hop time synchronization protocol for wireless sensor networks in harsh environments, utilizing a dynamical system approach to minimize message exchanges.

Contribution

It proposes a novel synchronization protocol based on a physical metaphor and dynamical systems theory, achieving high accuracy with minimal communication in randomly connected WSNs.

Findings

High accuracy time estimates achieved

Low message exchange required for synchronization

Validated through simulations and physical experiments

Abstract

This paper develops a fast, accurate and energy-efficient time synchronization protocol in wireless sensor networks that operate in harsh environments. The suggested protocol concept is based on an electrical physical metaphor. The protocol treats the nodes times as the states of an unconditionally stable discrete dynamical system that uses only single hop communication. The system can terminate at a low number of message exchanges while still in the transient phase. It can yield high quality time estimates with accuracies that are fractions of the clock at which node communication takes place. The synchronizer is developed and its capabilities are demonstrated by simulation and physical experiments on the MICA-Z wireless sensor network