On the Potential of Data-Based Time Synchronization in Wireless Sensor Networks for Condition Monitoring

Abstract

On trains, predetermined maintenance of wheels requires significant amounts of resources. Therefore, it is desirable to replace the scheduled maintenance by a condition-based maintenance strategy, where manual maintenance only takes place when it is actually necessary. For a minimally invasive retrofitting of wagons, a system consisting of a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) powered by energy-harvesting offers the most convenient and least costly solution. However, tight time synchronization and high energy efficiency is essential for a successful realization. Established time synchronization techniques for WSNs do not meet the special requirements for this scenario. Looking for an alternative, we noticed that one of the main components of WSNs, the sensor, has been barely exploited for this problem. We will demonstrate the feasibility of using sensor-data-based time synchronization instead of classical message-based synchronization in wireless networks for the example scenario of on-board wheel diameter measurements on trains. In contrast to popular current time synchronization protocols for WSNs, our approach is compatible with every wireless hardware. We perform a simulative evaluation of our approach on various wireless protocols based on message delay distributions measured on Raspberry Pi.