Continuous clock synchronization in wireless real-time applications

Continuous clock synchronization avoids unpredictable instantaneous corrections of clock values. This is usually achieved by spreading the clock correction over the synchronization interval. In the context of wireless real time applications, a protocol achieving continuous clock synchronization must tolerate message losses and should have a low overhead in terms of the number of messages. The paper presents a clock synchronization protocol for continuous clock synchronization in wireless real time applications. It extends the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks. It provides continuous clock synchronization, improves the precision by exploiting the tightness of the communication medium, and tolerates message losses. Continuous clock synchronization is achieved with an advanced algorithm adjusting the clock rates. We present the design of the protocol, its mathematical analysis, and measurements of a driver level implementation of the protocol on Windows NT