Fast Consensus-Based Time Synchronization Protocol Using Virtual Topology for Wireless Sensor Networks

Slow convergence is a major drawback of average-based consensus time synchronization protocols, particularly in large or sparse wireless sensor networks. The convergence speed can be increased by adding more nodes or increasing the transmission range of nodes, because the network becomes strongly connected. However, these solutions are not always feasible owing to hardware constraints. In this article, a virtual topology-based time synchronization protocol (VTSP) is proposed to address the aforementioned drawback of consensus-based protocols. Notably, VTSP performs the consensus process on a virtual topology that has a stronger algebraic connectivity than a physical one. Therefore, VTSP can significantly accelerate convergence speed without modifying the physical structure of the network. The virtual topology is formed by creating virtual links between each node and its two-hop neighbors. Moreover, two optimization techniques are suggested for reducing data redundancy, which is caused during the creation of the virtual links, in timing messages and for speeding up the convergence by excluding edge nodes from the consensus process. Simulation results demonstrate that VTSP can achieve convergence three times faster than the gradient time synchronization protocol, a well-known consensus-based time synchronization protocol, in various topologies while preserving the same level of accuracy.