Maximum Likelihood Estimation of clock parameters for synchronization of wireless sensor networks

Clock synchronization plays a fundamental role in the operation of wireless sensor networks. This paper derives the Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLE) of clock phase offset and skew between two nodes that assume a two-way timing message exchange mechanism to achieve synchronization. The MLE is derived under quite general conditions assuming an exponential distribution for the variable network delays and the presence of an unknown deterministic component due to the fixed network delays.