Efficient time-synchronization in ring-topology wireless sensor networks

Time synchronization is one of the fundamental middleware services in sensor networks, enabling the creation of low duty cycle, power efficient applications. One of the major goals of time synchronization is to enable efficient communication between mostly sleeping devices. The actual requirements and solutions of time synchronization depend on the actual network topology; different solutions fit mesh networks, a tree topology, or a ring topology. In this paper time synchronization for low duty cycle (mostly sleeping) ring topology wireless sensor networks is proposed, along with supporting measurement results.