A Time Synchronization Protocol for TDMA Based Wireless Sensor Networks

학위논문 (석사)-- 서울대학교 대학원 : 전기공학부, 2013. 8. 이정우.There has been much interest in wireless sensor networks recently, due to their diverse range of possible applications. Although there have been much research in MAC layer protocols for wireless sensor networks, these works are mainly focussed on the power savings and efficiencies of the protocols. For sensor networks which are in-situ and do not require much flexibility, such as a battery management system, energy is not always the most important factor, but rather reliability and scalability (where sensing periods are known). As such, a traditional TDMA protocol can be considered as a good option. Time synchronization in wireless sensor networks have also been considered by many academics, but work related to time synchronization in TDMA networks have been much less popular. In this thesis, a time synchronization protocol for TDMA based wireless sensor networks is proposed, Propagating Chain Time Synchronization. Propagating Chain Time Synchronization is a novel protocol for synchronizing TDMA based networks. The scheme achieves improved synchronization errors compared to traditional beacon synchronization methods, through skew correction estimated from chained two-way message exchanges, which employ piggybacking and overhearing.1 Introduction 1 1.1 Wireless Sensor Networks 1 1.1.1 Challenges in Designing Wireless Sensor Networks 2 1.2 Thesis Motivation 7 1.2.1 Wireless Sensor Networks in Battery Management Systems 7 2 Time Synchronization 10 2.1 Overview 10 2.2 Models of Clock Synchronization 11 2.2.1 Typical Synchronization Errors 13 2.3 Related Work 14 2.3.1 Sender-Receiver Synchronization 14 2.3.2 Receiver-Receiver Synchronization 16 2.3.3 Receiver-Only Synchronization 17 2.3.4 Clock Skew Estimation and Correction 18 2.3.5 Clock Synchronization in TDMA Based Networks 19 3 Propagating Chain Time Synchronization for TDMA Based Wireless Sensor Networks 21 3.1 Overview 21 3.2 System Model 21 3.2.1 Basic Assumptions 22 3.2.2 Topology 22 3.2.3 Chained Synchronization 23 3.2.4 Overhearing and Piggybacking 24 3.2.5 Propagating Skew Correction 28 4 Theoretical Error Analysis 31 4.1 System Models 31 4.2 Node Clock Modelling 32 4.3 TSF 34 4.4 Chained Synchronization 36 4.5 Two-Way Message Exchange Synchronization Error 38 5 Simulation 42 5.1 Simulation Parameters 42 5.2 Simulation Results 46 6 Conclusion 52 Bibliography 54Maste

An Exploratory Analysis Of A Time Synchronization Protocol For UAS

This dissertation provides a numerical analysis of a Receiver Only Synchronization (ROS) protocol which is proposed for use by Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. The use of ROS protocols could reinforce current technologies that enable transmission over 5G cell networks, decreasing latency issues and enabling the incorporation of an increased number of UAS to the network, without loss of accuracy. A minimum squared error (MSE)-based accuracy of clock offset and clock skew estimations was obtained using the number of iterations and number of observations as independent parameters. Although the model converged after only four iterations, the number of observations needed was considerably large, of no less than about 250. The noise, introduced in the system through the first residual, the correlation parameter and the disturbance terms, was assumed to be autocorrelated. Previous studies suggested that correlated noise might be typical in multipath scenarios, or in case of damaged antennas. Four noise distributions: gaussian, exponential, gamma and Weibull were considered. Each of them is adapted to different noise sources in the OSI model. Dispersion of results in the first case, the only case with zero mean, was checked against the Cramér-Rao Bound (CRB) limit. Results confirmed that the scheme proposed was fully efficient. Moreover, results with the other three cases were less promising, thus demonstrating that only zero mean distributions could deliver good results. This fact would limit the proposed scheme application in multipath scenarios, where echoes of previous signals may reach the receiver at delayed times. In the second part, a wake/sleep scheme was imposed on the model, concluding that for wake/sleep ratios below 92/08 results were not accurate at p=.05 level. The study also evaluated the impact of noise levels in the time domain and showed that above -2dB in time a substantial contribution of error terms disturbed the initial estimations significantly. The tests were performed in Matlab®. Based on the results, three venues confirming the assumptions made were proposed for future work. Some final reflections on the use of 5G in aviation brought the present dissertation to a close

Fast distributed multi-hop relative time synchronization protocol and estimators for wireless sensor networks

The challenging problem of time synchronization in wireless sensor networks is considered in this paper, where a new distributed protocol is proposed for both local and multi-hop synchronization. The receiver-to-receiver paradigm is used, which has the advantage of reducing the time-critical-path and thus improving the accuracy compared to common sender-to-receiver protocols. The protocol is fully distributed and does not rely on any fixed reference. The role of the reference is divided amongst all nodes, while timestamp exchange is integrated with synchronization signals (beacons). This enables fast acquisition of timestamps that are used as samples to estimate relative synchronization parameters. An appropriate model is used to derive maximum likelihood estimators (MLE) and the Cramer-Rao lower bounds (CRLB) for both the offset-only, and the joint offset/skew estimation. The model permits to directly estimating relative parameters without using or referring to a reference' clock. The proposed protocol is extended to multi-hop environment, where local synchronization is performed proactively and the resulted estimates are transferred to the intermediate/end-point nodes on-demand, i.e. as soon as a multi-hop communication that needs synchronization is initiated. On-demand synchronization is targeted for multi-hop synchronization instead of the always-on global synchronization model, which avoids periodic and continuous propagation of synchronization signals beyond a single-hop. Extension of local MLE estimators is proposed to derive relative multi-hop estimators. The protocol is compared by simulation to some state-of-the-art protocols, and results show much faster convergence of the proposed protocol. The difference has been on the order of more than twice compared to CS-MNS, more than ten times compared to RBS, and more than twenty times compared to TPSN. Results also show scalability of the proposed protocol concerning the multi-hop synchronization. The error does not exceed few microseconds for as much as 10 hops in R4Syn, while in CS-MNS, and TPSN, it reaches few tens of microseconds. Implementation and tests of the protocol on real sensor motes confirm microsecond level precision even in multi-hop scenarios, and high stability (long lifetime) of the skew/offset model

Distributed Object Tracking Using a Cluster-Based Kalman Filter in Wireless Camera Networks

Local data aggregation is an effective means to save sensor node energy and prolong the lifespan of wireless sensor networks. However, when a sensor network is used to track moving objects, the task of local data aggregation in the network presents a new set of challenges, such as the necessity to estimate, usually in real time, the constantly changing state of the target based on information acquired by the nodes at different time instants. To address these issues, we propose a distributed object tracking system which employs a cluster-based Kalman filter in a network of wireless cameras. When a target is detected, cameras that can observe the same target interact with one another to form a cluster and elect a cluster head. Local measurements of the target acquired by members of the cluster are sent to the cluster head, which then estimates the target position via Kalman filtering and periodically transmits this information to a base station. The underlying clustering protocol allows the current state and uncertainty of the target position to be easily handed off among clusters as the object is being tracked. This allows Kalman filter-based object tracking to be carried out in a distributed manner. An extended Kalman filter is necessary since measurements acquired by the cameras are related to the actual position of the target by nonlinear transformations. In addition, in order to take into consideration the time uncertainty in the measurements acquired by the different cameras, it is necessary to introduce nonlinearity in the system dynamics. Our object tracking protocol requires the transmission of significantly fewer messages than a centralized tracker that naively transmits all of the local measurements to the base station. It is also more accurate than a decentralized tracker that employs linear interpolation for local data aggregation. Besides, the protocol is able to perform real-time estimation because our implementation takes into consideration the sparsit- - y of the matrices involved in the problem. The experimental results show that our distributed object tracking protocol is able to achieve tracking accuracy comparable to the centralized tracking method, while requiring a significantly smaller number of message transmissions in the network

Design and Implementation of Large-Scale Wireless Sensor Networks for Environmental Monitoring Applications

Environmental monitoring represents a major application domain for wireless sensor networks (WSN). However, despite significant advances in recent years, there are still many challenging issues to be addressed to exploit the full potential of the emerging WSN technology. In this dissertation, we introduce the design and implementation of low-power wireless sensor networks for long-term, autonomous, and near-real-time environmental monitoring applications. We have developed an out-of-box solution consisting of a suite of software, protocols and algorithms to provide reliable data collection with extremely low power consumption. Two wireless sensor networks based on the proposed solution have been deployed in remote field stations to monitor soil moisture along with other environmental parameters. As parts of the ever-growing environmental monitoring cyberinfrastructure, these networks have been integrated into the Texas Environmental Observatory system for long-term operation. Environmental measurement and network performance results are presented to demonstrate the capability, reliability and energy-efficiency of the network

Consensus-based Time Synchronization Algorithms for Wireless Sensor Networks with Topological Optimization Strategies for Performance Improvement

Wireless Sensor Networks(WSNs)have received considerable attention in recent years because of its broad area of applications.In the same breadth,it also faces many challenges.Time synchronization is one of those fundamental challenges faced by WSN being a distributed system.It is a service by which all nodes in the network will share a common notion of time.It is a prerequisite for correctness of other protocols and services like security,localization and tracking protocols.Several approaches have been proposed in the last decade for time synchronization in WSNs.The well-known methods are based on synchronizing to a reference(root)node's time by considering a hierarchical backbone for the network.However,this approach seems to be not purely distributed,higher accumulated synchronization error for the farthest node from the root and subjected to the root node failure problem.Recently,consensus based approaches are gaining popularity due its computational lightness,robustness, and distributed nature.In this thesis,average consensus-based time synchronization algorithms are proposed,aiming to improve the performance metrics like number of iterations for convergence,total synchronization error,local synchronization error,message complexity,and scalability.Further,to cope up with energy constraint environment, Genetic algorithm based topological optimization strategies are proposed to minimize energy consumption and to accelerate the consensus convergence of the existing consensus-based time synchronization algorithms.All algorithms are analyzed mathematically and validated through simulation in MATLAB based PROWLER simulator.Firstly,a distributed Selective Average Time Synchronization (SATS) algorithm is proposed based on average consensus theory.The algorithm is purely distributed(runs at each node),and each node exploits a selective averaging with the neighboring node having maximum clock difference. To identify the neighboring node with maximum clock difference,every node broadcasts a synchronization initiation message to the neighboring nodes at its local oscillation period and waits for a random interval to get the synchronization acknowledgment messages.After receiving acknowledgment messages,a node estimates relative clock value and sends an averaging message to the selected node.The iteration continues until all nodes reach an acceptable synchronization error bound. The optimal convergence of the proposed SATS algorithm is analyzed and validated through simulation and compared with some state-of-the-art,average consensus based time synchronization algorithms. Furthermore, it is observed that most of the consensus-based time synchronization algorithms are one-hop in nature, i.e., the algorithms iterate by averaging with one-hop neighbors' clock value. In a sparse network with a lower average degree of connectivity, these algorithms show poor performance. In order to have better convergence on the sparse network, a multi-hop SATS algorithm is proposed. The basic principle of multi-hop SATS algorithm remains same as that of SATS algorithm, i.e., performing selective averaging with the neighboring node, having maximum clock difference. But, in this case, the search for neighboring node goes beyond one hop. The major challenge lies in multi-hop search is the end-to-end delay which increases with the increase in hop count. So, to search a multi-hop neighboring node with maximum clock difference and with minimum and bounded end-to-end delay, a distributed, constraint-based dynamic programming approach is proposed for multi-hop SATS algorithm. The performance of the proposed multi-hop SATS algorithm is compared with some one-hop consensus time synchronization algorithms. Simulation results show notable improvement in terms of convergence speed, total synchronization error within a restricted hop count. The trade-off with the increase in number of hops is also studied. The well-known consensus-based time synchronization algorithms are ``all node based'', i.e., every node iterates the algorithm to reach the synchronized state. This increases the overall message complexity and consumption of energy. Further, congestion in the network increases due to extensive synchronization message exchanges and induces the delay in the network. The delay induced in the message exchange is the main source of synchronization error and slows down the convergence speed to the synchronized (consensus) state. Hence, it is desirable that a subset of sensors along with a reasonable number of neighboring sensors should be selected in such a way that the resultant logical topology will accelerate the consensus algorithm with optimal message complexity and minimizes energy consumption. This problem is formulated as topological optimization problem which is claimed to be NP-complete in nature. Therefore, Genetic Algorithm (GA) based approaches are used to tackle this problem. Considering dense network topology, a single objective GA-based approach is proposed and considering sparse topology, a multi-objective Random Weighted GA based approach is proposed. Using the proposed topological optimization strategy, significant improvements are observed for consensus-based time synchronization algorithms in terms of average number of messages exchanged, energy consumption, and average mean square synchronization error

Design and implementation of application-specific medium access control protocol for scalable smart home embedded systems

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2016By incorporating electrical devices, appliances and house features in a system that is controlled and monitored either remotely or on-site, smart home technologies have recently gained an increasing popularity. There are several smart home systems already available, ranging from simple on-site home monitoring to self-learning and Wi-Fi enabled systems. However, current systems do not fully make use of recent technological advancement and synergy among a variable number of sensors for improved data collection. For a synergistic system to be provident it needs to be modular and scalable to match exact user needs (type of applications and adequate number of sensors for each application). With an increased number of sensors intelligently placed to optimize the data collection, a wireless network is indispensable for a flexible and inexpensive installation. Such a network requires an efficient medium access control protocol to sustain a reliable system, provide flexibility in design and to achieve lower power consumption. This thesis brings to light practical ways to improve current smart home systems. As the main contribution of this work, we introduce a novel application-specific medium access control protocol able to support suggested improvements. In addition, a smart home prototype system is implemented to evaluate the protocol performance and prove concepts of recommended advances. This thesis covers the design of the proposed novel medium access protocol and the software/hardware implementation of the prototype system focusing on the monitoring and data analysis side, while providing inputs for the control side of the system. The smart home system prototype is Wi-Fi and Web connected, designed and implemented to emphasize system usability and energy efficiency

Ambient Sound-Based Collaborative Localization of Indeterministic Devices

Localization is essential in wireless sensor networks. To our knowledge, no prior work has utilized low-cost devices for collaborative localization based on only ambient sound, without the support of local infrastructure. The reason may be the fact that most low-cost devices are indeterministic and suffer from uncertain input latencies. This uncertainty makes accurate localization challenging. Therefore, we present a collaborative localization algorithm (Cooperative Localization on Android with ambient Sound Sources (CLASS)) that simultaneously localizes the position of indeterministic devices and ambient sound sources without local infrastructure. The CLASS algorithm deals with the uncertainty by splitting the devices into subsets so that outliers can be removed from the time difference of arrival values and localization results. Since Android is indeterministic, we select Android devices to evaluate our approach. The algorithm is evaluated with an outdoor experiment and achieves a mean Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 2.18 m with a standard deviation of 0.22 m. Estimated directions towards the sound sources have a mean RMSE of 17.5 ° and a standard deviation of 2.3 °. These results show that it is feasible to simultaneously achieve a relative positioning of both devices and sound sources with sufficient accuracy, even when using non-deterministic devices and platforms, such as Android