Description:
- Wireless networks
- Distributed sensing and localization
- Beamforming for communications
Abstract
USC researchers have developed an algorithm for ultra-precise timing in large wireless networks. The approach uses physical-layer UWB round-trip time-of-flight measurements to achieve precise timing between any two nodes, and fast re-timing based on UWB pulse broadcasting and diversity combining, allowing the precise timing to “propagate” through even large-scale networks. The algorithm also ensures that a virtual timing network evolves from a large set of randomly deployed nodes. It provides nanosecond accuracy timing that is essentially independent of the number of nodes in the network, and thus provides outstanding scalability.
Benefit
- High precision timing in large wireless networks
- Accuracy is independent of the number of nodes in the network
- High scalability
Market Application
Precise synchronization in wireless networks has a number of applications both in the commercial as well as the military sector. The process of aligning the time origins/references (offset) and the rates (skew) of two physically separate time keeping devices, is a fundamental task in wireless networks. One of its components, namely frequency (clock rate) synchronization, has been well explored and is commonly achieved by devices using phase-locked loops to adjust their local oscillator frequency to a master clock (base station, GPS satellite, or another device within an ad-hoc network). However, the alignment of time offsets (including propagation delays) is more challenging.
Publications
Ultra-wide bandwidth timing networks, IEEE International Conference on Ultra-Wideband, 2012
Stage of Development
- Tested
- Available for exclusive and non-exclusive licensing