Adaptive Gradient Time Synchronization Protocol in Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks

Gradient Time Synchronization Protocol (GTSP) is a consensus-based time synchronization protocol in which each node adjusts its logical clock by averaging the relative clock rate of neighbor nodes in every synchronization beacon interval. This process is repeated until the network achieves convergence (synchronization). Therefore, a short beacon interval can reduce the convergence time. However, it causes high energy consumption because messages are sent frequently. On the other hand, a longer beacon interval can reduce energy consumption, but the convergence time can be longer. In this paper, we propose Adaptive Gradient Time Synchronization Protocol (AGTSP), which allows to adjust the beacon interval of each node dynamically in a fully distributed manner to reduce convergence time as well as save energy. A performance evaluation is conducted to prove the effectiveness of AGTSP compared with GTSP.