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Time Synchronization Algorithms in Low-Cost Wireless Sensor Network Systems

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Abstract

Time synchronization is an essential building block of sensor network systems. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study of least squares algorithms for time synchronization in sensor networks, with a focus on continuous monitoring and data collection applications. We propose a set of algorithms to address a number of issues in practical implementation on typical low-cost sensor network platforms, including a scaled signal model to achieve numerical stability in an ill-conditioned problem, sequential estimators for the scaled signal model to reduce computational complexity, a fast initialization scheme to improve energy efficiency, and outlier detection algorithms to improve robustness in long-term autonomous operations. The proposed algorithms are implemented and a measurement-based simulation method is employed to study the performance.

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Acknowledgments

This research is supported in part by NSF under Grants OCI-0636421, CNS-0709285, and EEC-0431818.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Circle #310470, Denton, TX, 76203, USA

    Jue Yang & Xinrong Li

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  1. Jue Yang
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  2. Xinrong Li
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Correspondence to Xinrong Li.

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Yang, J., Li, X. Time Synchronization Algorithms in Low-Cost Wireless Sensor Network Systems. Int J Wireless Inf Networks 21, 196–207 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10776-014-0246-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10776-014-0246-8

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