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Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) consist of large populations of wirelessly connected nodes, capable of computation, communication, and sensing. Sensor nodes cooperate in order to merge individual sensor readings into a high-level sensing result, such as integrating a time series of position measurements into a velocity estimate. The physical time of sensor readings is a key element in this process called data fusion. Hence, time synchronization is a crucial component of WSNs. We argue that time synchronization schemes developed for traditional networks such as NTP 23 are ill-suited for WSNs and suggest more appropriate approaches.
Elson et al. (Wed,) studied this question.