# 5G Physical Layer-Based Procedure to Support Time-Sensitive Networking
## 1 Introduction  
Advances in robotics and automation have provided highly configurable equipment with advanced features for automated manufacturing. Such features allow multiple mobile robotics to execute complex industrial processes. However, equipment capable of performing dexterous functions may require large volumes of data to be exchanged with low latency. Given such low latency requirements, wired connections have provided high bandwidth synchronization between devices, such as between the local clocks of different network components. When the local clocks of different network components are synchronized, these components can form a virtual clock domain. The virtual clock domain represents the common reference time that each local clock is synchronized to. The precision of the virtual clock domain is directly related to the uncertainty between the time measured on a local clock of a network component and the reference time of the virtual clock domain. However, in various applications, such as those that include dynamic and/or reconfigurable equipment that is mobile, wired communication may not be possible and/or it may limit the mobility and/or degree of flexibility for configuring the equipment, which can impact the use case scenarios [1, 2]. Notably, 5G networks provide high bandwidths to handle high-volume data transfer that may be used to synchronize instructions between different robotic network components [3]. However, wireless communication between network components often includes additional associated delays relative to wired communication protocols that may further complicate and prevent precise synchronization between robotic network components [4, 5]. For example, wireless communications may be susceptible to delays in the transmission/delivery and processing of received data. Such additional delays may compound synchronization deviations that may cause deviations between the localclock of the network component and the reference time of a virtual clock domain, thus impacting the synchronization. For example, two components operating in concert to perform an industrial process may produce costly, damaging, and/or dangerous errors when the two components work too far out of synchronization. In some applications, delays may result in errors during manufacturing or damage to the components. Thus, the speed and complexity of components in an IIOT facility may be limited based on the synchronization between the clocks of each component in the virtual clock domain. While wireless operation may be desirable, additional delays added through wireless communications can render conventional techniques inadequate for synchronizing devices using wireless communications. It can be desirable or necessary to use critical process data in synchronized networks, such as to coordinate scheduled events between different instances of robotic equipment and/or to monitor the status of an ongoing process. Some industrial applications require accurate time information for synchronous communications. Clock synchronicity among devices is crucial, with a maximum allowed time offset within a synchronization domain ranging from less than 1 us to 10 us [6] depending on the specific scenario and the number of inter-communicating devices. However, as process complexity increases, so does the complexity of real-time data that may be relied on to monitor critical process data for industrial processes. For example, in addition to real-time data, other data types, such as energy data metrics and maintenance reports, may also be used in process monitoring. The IEEE 802.1 AS protocol, known for its precise time-synchronization capabilities, holds the potential for application across various wireless technologies, like WiFi, Bluetooth, or cellular technologies. However, this paper is dedicated to delving into its specific implementation within the realm of 5G technology.