On Firefly Synchronization of Sleep Phases in Energy Efficient Meshed Networks.

Energy efficiency is a key requirement for meshed networks which demand a high battery life and low maintenance costs. A state-of-the-art method to decrease power consumption is the sleep mode technique. However, to fully exploit the benefits of this method, it is important that the sleep phases of all network nodes are synchronized. Synchronizing these phases via coexisting systems like, e.g., a GPS or LTE signal, would require additional hardware which contradicts the goal of an energy efficient and low-cost system. This paper introduces the sleeping firefly synchronization algorithm, i.e., a novel self-organized synchronization method which is based on pulse-coupled oscillators to synchronize the sleep phases of a meshed network where not all nodes have a direct connection to a master node. The algorithm not only synchronizes the network but also adapts the sleep phases in an autonomous manner, i.e., each node decides about phase changes and on the duration of a sleep phase by itself. Numerical results show that meshed networks synchronize mostly in a few cycles and that huge energy savings are possible in the synchronization phase when applying the proposed algorithm.