Distributed clock synchronization in discrete event simulators for wireless factory automation

Abstract

One very interesting trend in factory automation is the introduction of wireless networks to the factory floor. This requires investigation of problems which are not present with wired technology. Tracking of mobile nodes, as well as seamless handover are such problems. Precise clock synchronization is needed to solve these new issues. For large-scale systems it is economically unreasonable to implement complete factory scenarios with prototypes in order to test for architectural, engineering, and design problems. It is mandatory to have a proper simulation environment at hand in order to study the influence of various design decisions. This paper discusses techniques of how to simulate such a large-scale system with special focus on proper modeling and simulation of distributed clocks in a discrete event simulation environment.