A Decentralized Slot Synchronization Algorithm for TDMA-Based Ad Hoc Networks

Time-slot synchronization is very important for a TDMA-based Ad Hoc Network. In this paper, we propose a decentralized algorithm to synchronize the local time slot reference. The differences between the time slots of neighboring nodes with consideration of signal propagation delay are used to compute the slot adjustment. The methods on how to choose parameters are also discussed. Simulation experiments have been carried out for different scenarios, and the results show that this algorithm has fast convergence rate and modest computation burden, hence is suitable to run on terminals of Ad Hoc networks.