Color-Based Time Synchronization for Future Networks: Advantages, System Architecture, and Potential Use Cases

Given its relevance to industrial applications, over-the-air time synchronization (TS) is anticipated to play a crucial role in future communication networks. Thus, we investigate the potential of optical wireless signals for TS in various applications, including high-precision manufacturing and power distribution. More specifically, in this article, we propose the use of color-based encoded timestamps for TS. In the proposed technique, the master node transmits timestamps to the existing slave nodes encoded in optical signals. To do this, we introduce the implementation of the color-based TS technique and highlight its merits. It is concluded that color-based optical signals can be efficiently used for TS in future networks.