On the Optimization of Synchronization Efficiency in Multi-hop Ad-Hoc Networks

Time synchronization is indispensable in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) networks. The synchronization between nodes is realized through the exchange of packets. At present, there are few protocols that provide an effective solution to the packet conflict problem in synchronization. In this paper, a contention window optimized time synchronization protocol for efficient conflict avoidance is proposed. Considering the state transition of nodes in different conflicting situations, a three-dimensional Markov chain model is used to analyze the packet transmission contention phase. The relationship between the conflict probability, synchronization time and the value of the contention window size in the network is determined by the model. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme has significant advantages in synchronization efficiency compared with other protocols.