Clock Synchronization in Delay Tolerant Sensor Networks

For applications involving the monitoring of large areas, dense sensor networks are not practical. For such applications, delay tolerant networks which consist of disconnected clusters of sensors that are visited periodically by a mobile robot are implemented. Because clock synchronization is critical to any data collection endeavor, and because the structure of DTNs is unique, this paper examines various clock synchronization algorithms as they apply to DTNs. A simulation tool was developed to examine and evaluate the RBS clock synchronization algorithm for DTNs.