Bridging Interference Barriers in Self-Organized Synchronization

We consider self-organized synchronization in a wireless network, in a setting where there may be transmissions in the network interfering with the reception of synchronization pulses. Persistent existence of interference may prevent synchronization pulses from being heard, which potentially divides the network to multiple connected components separated by interference barriers. We investigate methods to coordinate the synchronization transmission and/or reception strategies within connected components, so that they may grow by bridging barriers. Symmetry in the self-organized connected component growth is broken by synchronization IDs, with a resolution mechanism allowing a finite ID space. Simulation results in a random network with distance-dependent path loss a represented. The coordination methods increase the probability of convergence from multiple connected components to a single connected component covering the whole network significantly.