Precision Time for Industry

From telecommunication operators building 5G, to self-driving cars and air pollution monitoring stations, there is a growing need for networks that reliably distribute accurate time and frequency. One of the highest performing dissemination systems is the White Rabbit Precision Time Protocol (PTP-WR). By employing fibre-optic links, PTP-WR avoids many of the issues associated with current radio and broadcasting time and frequency sharing schemes, such as the Global Navigation Satellite System which is vulnerable to spoofing, hacking, and disturbance from space weather. However, the system is not yet resilient enough for extensive industry take-up, and there remains a lack of adequate calibration techniques.

This project established methods and devices for PTP-WR that ensures time and frequency are precisely matched across diverse sites and networks. In offering reliable and high-performing time transfer which is continuously calibrated to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), this project will enable leading-edge industrial applications that depend on time, such as mobile e-commerce and smart power grids.