A lightweight only receiver clock synchronization technique for wireless sensor networks

Since the birth of computer networks and distributed systems, the clock synchronization issue has been considered as a major challenge. Unlike classical networks, which aim to provide high quality service without power restriction, the primary purpose of most sensor network protocols is to economize as much as possible the energy in order to enhance the network's lifetime. In fact, the importance to have clocks synchronized resides in the fact that a wide range of communication protocols and applications necessitate a common notion of time for the overall network nodes to operate perfectly. In this paper, we propose a new clock synchronization algorithm, referred to as Lightweight Only Receiver Clock Synchronization (LORCS). As communication between nodes consumes significant amounts of energy, our technique aims to minimize the number of exchanged timing messages during a synchronization round. To this end, neighbor nodes in LORCS synchronize their local clocks with the reference point by only receiving synchronization messages without transmitting any such message. Simulation results show the effectiveness of LORCS compared to the RBS protocol, a standard benchmark clock synchronization protocol.