Research and verification of time synchronization collaboration methods for 5G and industrial networks

Seamless integration of 5G and industrial networks requires enhanced transmission performance to meet the stringent timing accuracy and ultra-low latency demands of industrial systems. Presently, 5G and industrial systems operate with inconsistent time synchronization protocols, lacking a unified deployment strategy. This disjointed approach may lead to synchronization discrepancies, potentially compromising system stability and control precision. Hence, there is a pressing need to develop cross-system time synchronization schemes to ensure effective and dependable operations in forthcoming smart manufacturing scenarios. This study investigates the necessity and methodology for time synchronization collaboration in co-deployed 5G and industrial systems. It presents a collaborative time synchronization framework between 5G and industrial networks based on dwell time calibration and hop-by-hop time recovery, and validated the effectiveness of the framework through empirical experiments. Simulation tests in a laboratory environment demonstrate that the proposed scheme yields end-to-end clock deviation at the scale of hundreds of nanoseconds, thereby maintaining system-wide stability at an acceptable level. These findings confirm that the framework significantly improves time synchronization performance of 5G networks in industrial settings, enabling more stable and efficient system operations.