Time-Aware Applications, Computers, and Communication Systems (TAACCS)

Published

February 21, 2015

Author(s)

Marc A. Weiss, John Eidson, Charles Barry, David Broman, Bob Iannucci, Edward A. Lee, Kevin Stanton, Sr, Leon Goldin

Abstract

A new economy built on the massive growth of endpoints on the internet will require precise and verifiable timing in ways that current systems do not support. Applications, computers, and communications systems have been developed with modules and layers that optimize data processing but degrade accurate timing. State-of-the-art systems now use timing only as a performance metric. Correctness of timing as a metric cannot currently be designed into systems independent of hardware and/or software implementations. To enable the massive growth predicted, accurate timing needs cross-disciplinary research to be integrated into these existing systems. This paper reviews the state of the art in six crucial areas central to the use of timing signals in these systems. Each area is shown to have critical issues requiring accuracy or integrity levels of timing that need research contributions from a range of disciplines to solve.

Citation

Technical Note (NIST TN) - 1867

Report Number

1867

NIST Pub Series

Technical Note (NIST TN)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

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DOI Link

Keywords

Clocks, Cyber-physical systems, Discrete event systems, Distributed control, Industrial Internet, Internet of Everything (IoE), Internet of Things(IoT), Machine to machine, Ordering, PTIDES, Real-time systems, Simultaneity, Synchronization, Time transfer, Timestamps

Citation

Weiss, M. , Eidson, J. , Barry, C. , Broman, D. , Iannucci, B. , Lee, E. , Stanton, K. and Goldin, L. (2015), Time-Aware Applications, Computers, and Communication Systems (TAACCS), Technical Note (NIST TN), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.TN.1867 (Accessed October 14, 2025)