Measuring synchronization precision in mobile sensor networks

Many applications involving the use of drones in sensor networks require precise synchronization from the involved sensors. However, not many papers evaluate the precision of the synchronism that can be obtained by means of exchanging packets in mobile sensor networks. This lack can be explained by the difficulties encountered in modeling the swift movements of the drones and the large volumes of these elements in a monitored area. Measuring phase noise also requires techniques that are quite different from those commonly used to analyze data networks. This paper suggests a simulation model based on discrete events, deployed in a Matlab Simulink® tool, which combines calculating loss probability in a mobile sensor network with measuring phase error between the sensor clock and the reference clock. Phase error is evaluated by Maximum Time Interval Error (MTIE) and Allan Deviation (ADEV) statistics. Results show that synchronism precision is strongly connected to the probability of message loss and that, with fewer losses, precision in the order of tens of nano-seconds can be obtained.