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Consensus is a fundamental problem in fault-tolerant distributed systems and involves multiple nodes arriving at a coordinated decision. Reaching a consensus is more challenging if the system is dynamic and in real-time, as is the case with autonomous vehicles and mobile sensor networks. Thus, consensus algorithms ensure that a cluster of devices can cooperatively complete a mission even if the cluster loses its leader. However, if a consensus algorithm is built upon a typical hub-spoke network topology, the algorithm may be rendered useless if the singular network access point fails.

A mesh network is an alternative, non-hierarchical topology for local networks in which devices can directly communicate amongst themselves without a central network traffic controller. As a result, a mesh network is resilient to a single point of failure.

Our capstone project aims to implement Raft, a distributed consensus algorithm, atop a mesh network for use in low-power embedded systems. An open-source software library will be developed and prototyped on a printed-circuit board (PCB) with an ESP8266 chip.

TeX Report

https://www.overleaf.com/read/qvspbyxqfkcj

Timeline

See milestones at https://github.com/A5-015/capstone/milestones

Literature Review

See the team library at https://www.zotero.org/groups/2374248/a5-015/library