An Adaptive Fuzzy-PI Clock Servo Based on IEEE 1588 for Improving Time Synchronization over Ethernet Networks

A network-based control system includes many connected devices, and time synchronization plays an important role in the unified operation of those systems. A clock servo needs a guarantee time offset and a clock rate to minimize the time difference between devices. This paper proposes an adaptive clock servo to improve time synchronization. This proposed algorithm uses a fuzzy-based proportional-integral clock servo (fuzzy-PI) based on IEEE 1588 to reduce the frequency of clock compensation. This method adapts the bandwidth and enhances noise reduction, improving both the time offset and rate difference between the slave and master. The node time can synchronize with the master time after just one cycle of synchronization. Experiments validated the effectiveness of the algorithm and demonstrated that the slave can track the master with the mean and standard deviation of the time offset are 0.432ns and 4.402ns. A cycle time of one second is used to ensure a low-bandwidth network. With these results, the number of nodes over a real-time network can be increased.