Simulation-based study toward more reliable clock-lag estimation in acoustic communication systems via carrier frequency dispersion

Acoustic communication is a practical approach for short-range wireless data exchange. In consumer products, inexpensive microprocessors often cause frequency detuning due to inaccurate clocks, leading to increased communication errors. To address this problem, we investigate improving clock-lag estimation accuracy through appropriate selection of carrier-frequency sets. We formulate an optimization-based carrier-frequency design that disperses adjacent frequency ratios. Simulation results suggest that the proposed method can reduce the ambiguity of clock-lag estimation, particularly in scenarios where certain carrier frequencies, such as edge frequencies, are omitted.