Affordable BeagleBone Solution for Precise IRIG-B Countdown Time Synchronization for Safety-Critical Applications
Shazia Shanavas, V Vipin, A S Anandu, S Reshmi, Jathish JK, K V Ranjith · 2024
This paper introduces an innovative low-cost approach to real-time range synchronization, tailored to meet the demands of time-sensitive safety-critical applications. Traditionally, safety-critical applications such as rocket launches rely on dedicated range time synchronization protocols like IRIG-B to achieve precise time synchronization of distributed systems within the range. However, Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) solutions for IRIG synchronization are often prohibitively expensive. In this study, we present a feasibility analysis to implement the IRIG-B protocol on a low-cost embedded solution that fulfills all the requirements of the aerospace industry. Our solution utilizes the Programmable Real-Time Units embedded within the BeagleBone Black as a cost-effective means to precisely implement the IRIG-B protocol. The implementation comprises a Demodulator module, a BeagleBone PRU-based decoder module, a Triple Modular Redundant logic for optimal IRIG input selection from three independent IRIG chains, and a UDP protocol for precise time synchronization of different subsystems within the range. The results of our study demonstrate compliance with aerospace industry requirements, and further ablation studies were conducted to ensure the reliability of our findings. This work enhances real-time range synchronization in aerospace applications by providing a practical and cost-effective solution for precisely synchronizing multiple subsystems within a range through a network-based protocol.