Title: On the Scalability of Cooperative Time Synchronization in Pulse-Connected Networks
Speaker: Sergio Servetto (joint work with An-swol Hu), 4:40-5:00

ABSTRACT

We consider the problem of time synchronization in dense wireless networks. Well established synchronization techniques suffer from an inherent scalability problem, in that synchronization errors grow unbound with increasing network density. In this work, first we develop a model for communication in wireless networks, and then we use the model to define a new time synchronization mechanism. A salient feature of the proposed method is that, in the regime of asymptotically dense networks, it achieves global synchronization with errors bounded by constants independent of network size; and furthermore, this error is the smallest possible achievable by any pair of nodes anywhere in the network, irrespective of the distance separating them. Another contribution is that our model and proofs are purely probabilistic, in contrast to formulations in terms of dynamical systems that are standard in the literature on time synchronization problems.