Distributed Time Pulse for FlockLab

This thesis presents a wireless synchronization protocol, which is able to disseminate a pulse signal through a network with an accuracy in the sub-μs range. The protocol is based on Glossy, a flooding architecture for wireless networks, which allows a packet to be transmitted through the whole network in a highly reliable and fast manner. Various techniques are used to enhance Glossy’s implicit synchronization process and compensate for non-deterministic timing behaviours. The final design distributes a pulse-per-second (PPS) of a single GPS device and is thereby able to synchronize the observers in the FlockLab network with an average synchronization error below 100 ns. A recently developed enhancement for FlockLab, the data acquisition unit (DAQ), improves the current limitations on event handling of the FlockLab services. Further, it features a timing module, which allows to apply accurate timestamps to events. The internal clock of the DAQ is synchronized to an external PPS. This thesis develops a hardware implementation of the DAQ, the FlockDAQ board, which is integrated into the current FlockLab setup. The board combines a Spartan-6 FPGA and an SRAM memory with a CC430 system-on-chip with integrated RF transceiver, which runs the synchronization protocol and provides the DAQ with an accurate PPS. The final design of the FlockDAQ in combination with the synchronization protocol is able to trace a highly accurate GPS PPS with an average synchronization error of 163 ns.