Abstract
This paper deals with the synchronization of Mobile Smart Objects (MSOs). Today, this scenario is becoming typical in Industrial IoT applications due to the plethora of MSOs available as robots, drones and wearables, equipped by sensors making them measurement instruments cooperating in distributed measurement systems. In this context, the synchronization accuracy is directly tied with the accuracy of the performed measurements. In hierarchical synchronization approaches, the presence of an MSO makes the network topology time varying, and this could prevent the synchronization of the whole network. Peer to peer approaches do not need node hierarchy to synchronize but could not converge to a common sense of time. To overcome these challenges, this paper proposes a consensus-based approach for which the convergence to a common sense of time is here demonstrated. The proposal deploys the MSO to bring the common sense of time from an SO to another, establishing new paths among SOs. The new paths are temporary and depend on the MSO’s route. In the paper, the influence of the MSO’s route on the synchronization accuracy σ and the time interval to synchronize all the SOs ∆TIS is investigated, also. The mathematical proof, the simulations and the experimental tests confirm that the MSO can reduce both the values of σ and ∆TIS, because the new connections introduced by the MSO can boost the exchange of information among SOs. Consequently, the criteria to a priori select the route ameliorating σ and ∆TIS values are proposed.
Highlights
Accurate time synchronization is a key enabler of real-time Industrial IoT applications [1,2,3,4], and numerous applications are available [1,5,6,7,8,9,10]
In order to evaluate the effect of the Mobile Smart Objects (MSOs) on the synchronization, it is necessary to evaluate the increasing number of connections due to the newly introduced paths and how such connections are spatially distributed
In the extreme case that a Smart Objects (SOs) is not linked to the network, if it is periodically visited by the MSO, as in [34], the synchronization of the whole network is achieved
Summary
Accurate time synchronization is a key enabler of real-time Industrial IoT applications [1,2,3,4], and numerous applications are available [1,5,6,7,8,9,10]. In the time interval ∆TIS, no action should be performed, because the achieved data can refer to different time instants These days, time synchronization in IoT wireless network must take into account that several SOs can be Mobile SOs (MSOs). To link the MSO’s route to the improvement of the two synchronization parameters ∆TIS and σ, two statistical indexes are defined: the average of the minimum number of connections in the path between any couple of SOs μcon, and its variation σcon versus the time. Based on such approach, the criteria to select more convenient MSO route are given.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
