RL and AHP-Based Multi-Timescale Multi-Clock Source Time Synchronization for Distribution Power Internet of Things

Time synchronization(TS)is crucial for ensuring the secure and reliable functioning of the distribution power Internet of Things(IoT).Multi-clock source time synchronization(MTS)has significant advantages of high reliability and accuracy but still faces challenges such as optimization of the multi-clock source selection and the clock source weight calculation at different timescales,and the coupling of synchronization latency jitter and pulse phase difference.In this paper,the multi-timescale MTS model is conducted,and the reinforcement learning(RL)and analytic hierarchy process(AHP)-based multi-timescale MTS algorithm is designed to improve the weighted summation of synchronization latency jitter standard deviation and average pulse phase difference.Specifically,the multi-clock source selection is optimized based on Softmax in the large timescale,and the clock source weight calculation is optimized based on lower confidence bound-assisted AHP in the small timescale.Simulation shows that the proposed algorithm can effectively reduce time synchronization delay standard deviation and average pulse phase difference.

Effects of Serum Concentration, Synchronization Time and Confluence on the Cell-Cycle Synchronization Efficiency of Goat Fibroblasts

This study aims to evaluate the effect of serum concentration, synchronization time, and confluence degree on the synchronisation efficiency of goat fibroblast cycle. The results indicated that there was no difference in the percentage of nucleated fibroblasts in the G0/G1 stage between serum concentrations of 0.3% and 0.4% (83.89% and 82.69%, respectively, P > 0.05) as well as between serum concentrations of 0.2% and 0.5% (76.95% and 75.46%, respectively, P > 0.05). The percentage of nucleated fibroblasts in the G0/G1 stage was highest at the concentration of 0.3% and lowest in the control group (83.89% vs. 62.67%, P 0.05). The beneficial effect of high confluence was confirmed by the large percentage of nucleated fibroblasts at the G0/G1 stage. The 60% confluency was significantly lower than the 80% and 100% confluency (73.44%, 86.63%, and 87.17%, respectively, P < 0.05). The results indicate that the goat fibroblast cycle synchronization is the most effective at the serum concentration of 0.3%, 72 hours of synchronization and 100% confluency.

Joint timing synchronization and frequency offset acquisition algorithm for MIMO OFDM systems

For multiple-input multiple-output （MIMO） orthogonal frequency division multiplexing （OFDM） systems, a joint timing synchronization and frequency offset acquisition algorithm based on fractional Fourier transform （FRFT） is proposed. The linear frequency modulation signals superimposed on the data signals are used as the training signals. By performing FRFT on the received signals and searching the peak value of the FRFT results, the receiver can realize timing synchronization and frequency offset acquisition simultaneously. Compared with the existing methods, the proposed algorithm can provide better timing synchronization performance and larger frequency offset acquisition range even under multi-path channels with low signal to noise ratio. Theoretical analysis and simulation results prove this point.

Fiber-based multiple access timing signal synchronization technique

A fiber-based,multiple access timing signal synchronization scheme is demonstrated.By coupling out the bidirectional transmission signals,a highly stable timing signal can be recovered at arbitrary points along the fiber with the help of the loop delay message broadcasted via ethernet from the local module.The experiment is carried out on a 30-km fiber placed in a temperature-controlled box.In one-day period,when the round trip fiber transfer delay fluctuation is60 ns,the fluctuations of the stabilized timing signal from the download and the remote modules were only ±125 ps and±100 ps,respectively.Also,the system error caused by transmission path asymmetry and thermal drift is calibrated,and a100-ps magnitude synchronization accuracy is realized.This method could provide new insights into the construction of a fiber-based time transfer network.

Golay Pair Aided Timing Synchronization Algorithm for Distributed MIMO-OFDM System

In order to solve the problem of inaccurate synchronization for distributed multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(OFDM) system in both multipath and low signal to noise ratio(SNR) channels, a golay pair aided timing synchronization(GPATS) method is proposed in this paper. A new synchronous training sequence based on the golay pair with guard interval is designed in GPATS method. By utilizing the unique properties of the new training sequence, the different timing point and the inter-transmitter delays(ITD) are obtained at the receiver. Simulation results show that, compared with the traditional synchronization approaches, the proposed algorithm can provide high accuracy in detecting different time offsets caused by the distributed transmitters of the MIMO-OFDM system, especially over multipath and low SNR channels.

Design of Timing Synchronization Software on EAST-NBI

To ensure the uniqueness and recognition of data and make it easy to analyze and process the data of all subsystems of the neutral beam injector （NBI）, it is required that all subsystems have a unified system time. In this paper, the timing synchronization software is presented which is related to many kinds of technologies, such as shared memory, multithreading, TCP protocol and so on. Shared memory helps the server save the information of clients and system time, multithreading can deal with different clients with different threads, the server works under Linux operating system, the client works under Linux operating system and Windows operating system. With the help of this design, synchronization of all subsystems can be achieved in less than one second, and this accuracy is enough for the NBI system and the reliability of data is thus ensured.

Practical Timing Synchronization for Network Dynamics in Large Machine-to-Machine Networks

Efficient multi-machine cooperation and network dynamics still remain open that jeopardize great applications in largescale machine-to-machine(M2M) networks. Among all possible machine cooperation controls, to synchronize tremendous machines in a timing-efficient brings one of the greatest challenge and serves as the foundation for any other network control policies. In this paper, we propose a linear-time synchronization protocol in large M2M networks. Specifically, a closed-form of synchronization rate is provided by developing the statistical bounds of the second smallest eigenvalue of the graph Laplacian matrix. These bounds enable the efficient control of network dynamics, facilitating the timing synchronization in networks. Through a practical study in Metropolis, simulation results confirm our theoretical analysis and provide effective selection of wireless technologies, including Zigbee, Wi-Fi, and cellular systems, with respect to the deployed density of machines. Therefore, this paper successfully demonstrates a practical timing synchronization, to make a breakthrough of network dynamic control in real-world machine systems, such as Internet of Things.

A consensus time synchronization protocol in wireless sensor network

Time synchronization is one of the base techniques in wireless sensor networks(WSNs).This paper proposes a novel time synchronization protocol which is a robust consensusbased algorithm in the existence of transmission delay and packet loss.It compensates for transmission delay and packet loss firstly,and then,estimates clock skew and clock offset in two steps.Simulation and experiment results show that the proposed protocol can keep synchronization error below 2μs in the grid network of 10 nodes or the random network of 90 nodes.Moreover,the synchronization accuracy in the proposed protocol can keep constant when the WSN works up to a month.

Timing Synchronization Method for Asymmetrically Clipped DC Biased Optical OFDM System

In a typical intensity-modulated direct-detection optical system, the information is carried on the intensity of the optical signal, and therefore can only be positive. Existing synchronization methods for RF-based OFDM system cannot be used directly in asymmetrically clipped DC biased optical of DM (ADO-OFDM) system. In order to solve the above problem, according to the characteristics of ADO-OFDM signal, the modified training symbol is presented. The simulation results show that the modified synchronization method gives good performance.

Accurate time synchronization of power reference station based on BD3 system

A Beidou 3(BD3)system-based power reference station can provide high-precision time synchronization for power distribution systems by sending synchronization data packets to devices in a multi-hop routing fashion.However,optimizing route selection to reduce both time synchronization error and delay is a challenging problem.In this paper,we establish a software-defined network-enabled power reference station time synchronization framework based on BD3.Then,we formulate the joint problem to minimize cumulative synchronization error and delay through multi-hop route selection optimization.A back propagation(BP)neural network-improved intelligent time synchronization route selection algorithm named BP-RS is proposed to learn the optimal route selection,which uses a BP neural network to dynamically adjust the exploration factor to achieve rapid convergence.Simulation results show the superior performance of BP-RS in synchronization delay,synchronization error,and adaptability with changing routing topologies.

MPC-based time synchronizationmethod for V2V (vehicle-tovehicle)communication

Purpose–As the strategy of 5G new infrastructure is deployed and advanced,5G-R becomes the primary technical system for future mobile communication of China’s railway.V2V communication is also an important application scenario of 5G communication systems on high-speed railways,so time synchronization between vehicles is critical for train control systems to be real-time and safe.How to improve the time synchronization performance in V2V communication is crucial to ensure the operational safety and efficiency of high-speed railways.Design/methodology/approach–This paper proposed a time synchronization method based on model predictive control(MPC)for V2V communication.Firstly,a synchronous clock for V2V communication was modeled based on the fifth generation mobile communication-railway(5G-R)system.Secondly,an observation equation was introduced according to the phase and frequency offsets between synchronous clocks of two adjacent vehicles to construct an MPC-based space model of clock states of the adjacent vehicles.Finally,the optimal clock offset was solved through multistep prediction,rolling optimization and other control methods,and time synchronization in different V2V communication scenarios based on the 5G-R system was realized through negative feedback correction.Findings–The results of simulation tests conducted with and without a repeater,respectively,show that the proposed method can realize time synchronization of V2V communication in both scenarios.Compared with other methods,the proposed method has faster convergence speed and higher synchronization precision regardless of whether there is a repeater or not.Originality/value–This paper proposed an MPC-based time synchronization method for V2V communication under 5G-R.Through the construction of MPC controllers for clocks of adjacent vehicles,time synchronization was realized for V2V communication under 5G-R by using control means such as multistep prediction,rolling optimization,and feedback correction.In view of the problems of low synchronization precision and slow convergence speed caused by packet loss with existing synchronization methods,the observer equation was introduced to estimate the clock state of the adjacent vehicles in case of packet loss,which reduces the impact of clock error caused by packet loss in the synchronization process and improves the synchronization precision of V2V communication.The research results provide some theoretical references for V2V synchronous wireless communication under 5G-R technology.

Simsync: A Time Synchronization Simulator for Sensor Networks

Time synchronization is a critical middleware service of wireless sensor networks. Researchers have already proposed some time synchronization algorithms. However, due to the demands for various synchronization precision, existing time synchronization algorithms often need to be adapted. So it is necessary to evaluate these adapted algorithms before use. Software simulation is a valid and quick way to do it. In this paper, we present a time synchronization simulator, Simsync, for wireless sensor networks. We decompose the packet delay into 6 delay components and model them separately. The frequency of crystal oscillator is modeled as Gaussian. To testify its effectiveness, we simulate the reference broadcast synchronization algorithm (RBS) and the timing-sync synchronization algorithm (TPSN) on Simsync. Simulated results are also presented and analyzed.

Approach to inter-satellite time synchronization for micro-satellite cluster

Micro-satellite cluster enables a whole new class of missions for communications, remote sensing, and scientific research for both civilian and military purposes. Synchronizing the time of the satellites in a cluster is important for both cluster sensing capabilities and its autonomous operating. However, the existing time synchronization methods are not suitable for microsatellite cluster, because it requires too many human interventions and occupies too much ground control resource. Although, data post-process may realize the equivalent time synchronization, it requires processing time and powerful computing ability on the ground, which cannot be implemented by cluster itself. In order to autonomously establish and maintain the time benchmark in a cluster, we propose a compact time difference compensation system（TDCS）, which is a kind of time control loop that dynamically adjusts the satellite reference frequency according to the time difference. Consequently, the time synchronization in the cluster can be autonomously achieved on-orbit by synchronizing the clock of other satellites to a chosen one＇s. The experimental result shows that the standard deviation of time synchronization is about 102 ps when the carrier to noise ratio（CNR） is 95 d BHz, and the standard deviation of corresponding frequency difference is approximately0.36 Hz.

Precise time frequency synchronization technology for bistatic radar

A complete method of synchronization technology of bistatic radar using global position system （GPS） is presented. The pulse per second signal （1PPS） is elaborately modified to increase the time synchronization precision and keep loop locking. A very high time synchronization precision is achieved. Using the modified 1PPS to discipline the local OCXO, the reference frequency signal achieves both high long term stability （LTS） and short term stability （STS） properties. An algorithm, named phase abrupt change CFAR is presented to restrain the 1PPS phase abrupt change and keep loop locking. The experimental results indicate that this time and frequency synchronization method is effective and the time synchronization precision of the synchronization system can be improved from ±100 ns to ±25 ns. In addition, the phase noise is improved to 20 dB.

Research on Time Synchronization Method Under Arbitrary Network Delay in Wireless Sensor Networks

To cope with the arbitrariness of the network delays,a novel method,referred to as the composite particle filter approach based on variational Bayesian(VB-CPF),is proposed herein to estimate the clock skew and clock offset in wireless sensor networks.VB-CPF is an improvement of the Gaussian mixture kalman particle filter(GMKPF)algorithm.In GMKPF,Expectation-Maximization(EM)algorithm needs to determine the number of mixture components in advance,and it is easy to generate overfitting and underfitting.Variational Bayesian EM(VB-EM)algorithm is introduced in this paper to determine the number of mixture components adaptively according to the observations.Moreover,to solve the problem of data packet loss caused by unreliable links,we propose a robust time synchronization(RTS)method in this paper.RTS establishes an autoregressive model for clock skew,and calculates the clock parameters based on the established autoregressive model in case of packet loss.The final simulation results illustrate that VB-CPF yields much more accurate results relative to GMKPF when the network delays are modeled in terms of an asymmetric Gaussian distribution.Moreover,RTS shows good robustness to the continuous and random dropout of time messages.

Real-time Synchronization Method Based on Dual Ring Fieldbus in CNC System

As the popularization of dual ring fieldbus, the optimized dual ring synchronization methods are still in short. The current synchronization methods are generally established in traditional industrial fieldbus, in which transmission is commonly considered in single track, the two-way transmitting cannot take full effect, and would result in unwanted idle load on equipment lines. In stamp-transferring part, the synchronizing algorithm is not properly processed to diminish the latency, so the real-time performance of entire system cannot be ensured. To support the synchronization control of stations in the CNC system, a real-time time synchronization method for dual ring fieldbus in the CNC system is designed in this paper. In this method a synchronizing message transmission scheme based on dual ring architecture and the synchronization algorithm between master and secondary stations are integrated. In the scheme, the clock models of both master and secondary stations are optimized with corresponding modules and the stamp data transmission based on the dual ring fieldbus is devised exclusively, so the transmitting efficiency improves with less idle work. In the algorithm, all the secondary stations can accomplish the consistent state with master station by updating clock discrepancy information in one communication cycle, and it takes the advantage of two-way transmitting and makes the best use of dual ring structure, so the real-time performance of the system can be promoted while retaining the precision of synchronization. To evaluate the performance, the costs of the method and errors during synchronizing are noted and analyzed based on the actual running environment in the industrial fieldbus. The results show that it reduces communication cost and ensures the smoothness of the system with low lag effects under heavy load. The proposed time synchronization method optimizes the architecture of sync message transmission in dual ring fieldbus, and improves the efficiency of time synchronization in the stations of CNC system.

Joint transfer of time and frequency signals and multi-point synchronization via fiber network

A system of jointly transferring time signals with a rate of 1 pulse per second （PPS） and frequency signals of 10 MHz via a dense wavelength division multiplex-based （DWDM） fiber is demonstrated in this paper. The noises of the fiber links are suppressed and compensated for by a controlled fiber delay line. A method of calibrating and characterizing time is described. The 1PPS is synchronized by feed-forward calibrating the fiber delays precisely. The system is experimen- tally examined via a 110 km spooled fiber in laboratory. The frequency stabilities of the user end with compensation are 1.8x 10-14 at 1 s and 2.0x 10-17 at 104 s average time. The calculated uncertainty of time synchronization is 13.1 ps, whereas the direct measurement of the uncertainty is 12 ps. Next, the frequency and 1PPS are transferred via a metropoli- tan area optical fiber network from one central site to two remote sites with distances of 14 km and 110 km. The frequency stabilities of 14 km link reach 3.0x 10-14 averaged in 1 s and 1.4x 10-17 in 104 s respectively; and the stabilities of 110 km link are 8.3 x 10-14 and 1.7 x 10-17, respectively. The accuracies of synchronization are estimated to be 12.3 ps for the 14 km link and 13.1 ps for the 110 km link, respectively.

Modeling of cascaded high isolation bidirectional amplification in long-distance fiber-optic time and frequency synchronization system

We propose a physical model of estimating noise and asymmetry brought by high isolation Bi-directional erbiumdoped fiber amplifiers(Bi-EDFAs),no spontaneous lasing even with high gain,in longdistance fiber-optic time and frequency(T/F)synchronization system.It is found that the Rayleigh scattering noise can be suppressed due to the high isolation design,but the amplified spontaneous emission(ASE)noise generated by the high isolation Bi-EDFA and the bidirectional asymmetry of the transmission link caused by the high isolation Bi-EDFA will deteriorate the stability of the system.The calculated results show that under the influence of ASE noise,the frequency instability of a 1200 km system composed of 15 high isolation Bi-EDFAs is 1.773×10^(-13)/1 s.And the instability caused by asymmetry is 2.6064×10^(-16)/30000–35000 s if the total asymmetric length of the bidirectional link length is 30 m.The intensity noises originating from the laser and detector,the transfer delay fluctuations caused by the variation in ambient temperature and the jitter in laser output wavelength are also studied.The experiment composed of three high isolation Bi-EDFAs is done to confirm the theoretical analysis.In summary,the paper shows that the short-term instability of the T/F synchronization system composed of high isolation Bi-EDFAs is limited by the accumulation of ASE noise of amplifiers and the laser frequency drift,while the long-term instability is limited by the periodic variation in ambient temperature and the asymmetry of the amplifiers.The research results are useful for pointing out the direction to improve the stability of the fiber-optic T/F synchronization system.

A NOVEL ESTIMATION METHOD OF TIMING OFFSET FOR OFDM BASED WLAN SYSTEMS

The conventional timing synchronization methods based on time domain correlation have the problems of timing metric plateau in Additive White Gaussian Noise(AWGN) channel and estimation error in multipath fading channel. To resolve the problems, this paper proposes a novel timing metric using the characteristics of long training symbols in IEEE802.11a and a new timing recovery method based on the new timing metric for Orthogonal Frequency Division MuItiplexing(OFDM)-based WLAN systems. The proposed timing metric is defined as a sum of absolute values of the imaginary parts of all the subcarrier samples. It exhibits a unique characteristic that is very sensitive to the true synchronization point since it has minimum value at the true synchronization point and maximum around the true synchronization point. The simulation results show that the performance of timing synchronization is significantly improved, as a result, the probability of error estimation is lower than 10-4 when Signal-to-Noise Ratio(SNR) is more than 10dB.

The correlation between stochastic resonance and the average phase-synchronization time of a bistable system driven by colour-correlated noises

This paper investigates the correlation between stochastic resonance （SR） and the average phase-synchronization time which is between the input signal and the output signal in a bistable system driven by colour-correlated noises. The results show that the output signal-to-noise ratio can reach a maximum with the increase of the average phase- synchronization time, which may be helpful for understanding the principle of SR from the point of synchronization; however, SR and the maximum of the average phase-synchronization time appear at different optimal noise level, moreover, the effects on them of additive and multiplicative noise are different.