Cooperative Consensus Algorithm for Clock Synchronization in Wireless Sensor Networks

摘要

We propose a novel time synchronization algorithm based on cooperative-consensus that replaces one- by-one aggregation in a consensus approach with one-shot averaging of many node responses in the physical layer. Through simulation, the algorithm is shown to achieve both skew and offset compensation in a multi-hop wireless sensor network. The proposed algorithm has the capability (a) to significantly improve the convergence rate of consensus-based distributed time synchronization protocols (while keeping the computational complexity low) by employing concurrent cooperative transmission and (b) to reduce the time synchronization error by crossing the network in fewer hops. The proposed algorithm is compared with the Average TimeSynch (ATS) algorithm running a media access control (MAC) protocol based on the IEEE standard 802.15.4 unslotted carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA-CA) for two root locations.