Abstract: Grid-connected converters exposed to weak grid conditions and severe fault events are at risk of losing synchronism with the external grid and neighboring converters. This predicament has led to a growing interest in analyzing the synchronization mechanism and developing models and tools for predicting the transient stability of grid-connected converters. This paper presents a thorough review of the developed methods that describe the phenomena of synchronization instability of grid-connected converters under severe symmetrical grid faults. These methods are compared where the advantages and disadvantages of each method are carefully mapped. The analytical derivations and a detailed simulation model are verified through experimental tests of three case studies. Steady-state and quasi-static analysis can determine whether a given fault condition results in a stable or unstable operating point. However, without considering the dynamics of the synchronization unit, transient stability cannot be guaranteed. By comparing the synchronization unit to a synchronous machine, the damping of the phase-locked loop is identified. For accurate stability assessment, either nonlinear phase portraits or time-domain simulations must be performed. Until this point, no direct stability assessment method is available which consider the damping effect of the synchronization unit. Therefore, additional work is needed on this field in future research.

Abstract: This brief proposes a unified theoretical framework to investigate the finite/fixed-time synchronization of complex networks with stochastic disturbances. By designing a common pinning controller with different ranges of power parameters, both the goals of finite-time and fixed-time synchronization in probability for the network topology containing spanning trees can be achieved. Moveover, with the help of finite-time stochastic stability theory, two types of explicit expressions of finite/fixed (dependent/independent on the initial values) settling times are calculated as well. One numerical example is finally presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis.

Abstract: The asymptotic synchronization of coupled reaction–diffusion neural networks with proportional delay and Markovian switching topologies is considered in this brief where the diffusion space does not need to contain the origin. The main objectives of this brief are to save communication resources and to reduce the conservativeness of the obtained synchronization criteria, which are carried out from the following two aspects: 1) mode-dependent quantized control technique is designed to reduce control cost and save communication channels and 2) Wirtinger inequality is utilized to deal with the reaction–diffusion terms in a matrix form and reciprocally convex technique combined with new Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional is used to derive delay-dependent synchronization criteria. The obtained results are general and formulated by linear matrix inequalities. Moreover, combined with an optimal algorithm, control gains with the least magnitude are designed.

Abstract: This study analyzes high-dimensional data from Beijing International Airport and presents a practical flight delay prediction model. Following a multifactor approach, a novel deep belief network method is employed to mine the inner patterns of flight delays. Support vector regression is embedded in the developed model to perform a supervised fine-tuning within the presented predictive architecture. The proposed method has proven to be highly capable of handling the challenges of large datasets and capturing the key factors influencing delays. This ultimately enables connected airports to collectively alleviate delay propagation within their network through collaborative efforts (e.g., delay prediction synchronization).

Abstract: In this paper, we are concerned with the finite-time synchronization of a class of inertial neural networks with time delays. Without applying some finite-time stability theorems, which are widely applied to studying the finite-time synchronization for neural networks, by constructing two Lyapunov functions and using integral inequality method, two sufficient conditions on the finite-time synchronization for a class of inertial neural networks with time delays are derived. Considering that the method and research results of the finite-time synchronization are different from some existing works, this paper extends the works on the finite-time synchronization of neural networks.

Abstract: Synchronization techniques can be classified into open-loop and closed-loop methods. In power and energy applications, which are the focus here, the latter type is more popular. Phase-locked loops (PLLs) and frequency-locked loops (FLLs) are two broad categories of closed-loop synchronization techniques. The aim of this paper is providing a review of recent advances in designing single-phase FLLs, which can be very useful for both researchers and engineers. The historical development of a standard single-phase FLL, its modeling and tuning aspects, its relationship with adaptive notch filters, its advanced versions for the synchronization purposes under adverse grid conditions, its modification for different industrial applications, its connection with single-phase PLLs, and its discretization aspects are the main parts of this review.

Abstract: The emergence of large-scale connectivity and synchronization are crucial to the structure, function and failure of many complex socio-technical networks. Thus, there is great interest in analyzing...

Abstract: In this paper, the dissipative synchronization control problem for Markovian jump memristive neural networks (MNNs) is addressed with fully considering the time-varying delays and the fragility problem in the process of implementing the gain-scheduled controller. A Markov jump model is introduced to describe the stochastic changing among the connection of MNNs and it makes the networks under consideration suitable for some actual circumstances. By utilizing some improved integral inequalities and constructing a proper Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional, several delay-dependent synchronization criteria with less conservatism are established to ensure the dynamic error system is strictly stochastically dissipative. Based on these criteria, the procedure of designing the desired nonfragile gain-scheduled controller is established, which can well handle the fragility problem in the process of implementing the controller. Finally, an illustrated example is employed to explain that the developed method is efficient and available.

Abstract: This sequel is concerned with the analysis of projective lag synchronization of Riemann–Liouville sense fractional order memristive BAM neural networks (FOMBNNs) with mixed time delays via hybrid controller. Firstly, a new type of hybrid control scheme, which is the combination of open loop control and adaptive state feedback control is designed to guarantee the global projective lag synchronization of the addressed FOMBNNs model. Secondly, by using a Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and Barbalet’s lemma, a new brand of sufficient criterion is proposed to ensure the projective lag synchronization of the FOMBNNs model considered. Moreover, as special cases by using a hybrid control scheme, some sufficient conditions are derived to ensure the global projective synchronization, global complete synchronization and global anti-synchronization for the FOMBNNs model considered. Finally, numerical simulations are provided to check the accuracy and validity of our obtained synchronization results.

Abstract: Similar to all mobile communication networks, synchronization in the time-frequency domain is a fundamental step that allows a fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) user equipment (UE) to properly receive and transmit its data. Due to the wide range of frequencies that are defined for the 5G NR systems, the corresponding synchronization procedure becomes critical and presents many challenges, especially for the applications that would need accurate oscillators to reduce the large values of the frequency offset. In this paper, we present and detail the 5G NR physical layer. Then, we describe the required synchronization procedure for 5G NR. And finally, we present the main challenges and issues within the 5G NR synchronization.

Abstract: This paper is concerned with quasi-synchronization of delayed memristive neural networks (MNNs) with switching jumps mismatches via aperiodically intermittent control. The issue is presented for three reasons: 1) the existing controllers for synchronization may be too complicated and not economical; 2) under the influence of switching jumps mismatches, synchronization of MNNs may fail to achieve; and 3) matrix measure method is less conservative but cannot be applied directly to synchronization of MNNs. To overcome these difficulties, the concept of asynchronously switching time interval is proposed to describe the phenomenon when the drive-response MNNs switch their connection weights asynchronously. Then, aperiodically intermittent control is designed and quasi-synchronization analysis is carried out based on a combined method that compromises the merits of interval matrix method and matrix measure method. A quasi-synchronization criterion, expressed in terms of the mixture of ${p}$ -norm and matrix measure of the memristive connection weights, is established. Meanwhile, the fundamental reason for the failure of complete synchronization is revealed. Moreover, an explicit expression of the error level is obtained and the design of the controller under a predetermined error level is presented. The obtained results in this paper reduce the conservativeness and provide a novel insight into the research of synchronization of MNNs.

Abstract: In this paper, we aim to investigate the optimal synchronization problem for a group of generic linear systems with input saturation. To seek the optimal controller, Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equations involving nonquadratic input energy terms in coupled forms are established. The solutions to these coupled HJB equations are further proven to be optimal and the induced controllers constitute interactive Nash equilibrium. Due to the difficulty to analytically solve HJB equations, especially in coupled forms, and the possible lack of model information of the systems, we apply the data-based off-policy reinforcement learning algorithm to learn the optimal control policies. A byproduct of this off-policy algorithm is shown that it is insensitive to probing noise that is exerted to the system to maintain persistence of excitation condition. In order to implement this off-policy algorithm, we employ actor and critic neural networks to approximate the controllers and the cost functions. Furthermore, the estimated control policies obtained by this presented implementation are proven to converge to the optimal ones under certain conditions. Finally, an illustrative example is provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Abstract: Synchronization processes play critical roles in the functionality of a wide range of both natural and man-made systems. Recent work in physics and neuroscience highlights the importance of higher-order interactions between dynamical units, i.e., three- and four-way interactions in addition to pairwise interactions, and their role in shaping collective behavior. Here we show that higher-order interactions between coupled phase oscillators, encoded microscopically in a simplicial complex, give rise to added nonlinearity in the macroscopic system dynamics that induces abrupt synchronization transitions via hysteresis and bistability of synchronized and incoherent states. Moreover, these higher-order interactions can stabilize strongly synchronized states even when the pairwise coupling is repulsive. These findings reveal a self-organized phenomenon that may be responsible for the rapid switching to synchronization in many biological and other systems that exhibit synchronization without the need of particular correlation mechanisms between the oscillators and the topological structure.

Abstract: Synchronization phenomena are of broad interest across disciplines and increasingly of interest in a multiplex network setting. For the multiplex network of coupled Rossler oscillators, here we show how the master stability function, a celebrated framework for analyzing synchronization on a single network, can be extended to certain classes of multiplex networks with different intralayer and interlayer coupling functions. We derive three master stability equations that determine, respectively, the necessary regions of complete synchronization, intralayer synchronization, and interlayer synchronization. We calculate these three regions explicitly for the case of a two-layer network of Rossler oscillators and show that the overlap of the regions determines the type of synchronization achieved. In particular, if the interlayer or intralayer coupling function is such that the interlayer or intralayer synchronization region is empty, complete synchronization cannot be achieved regardless of the coupling strength. Furthermore, for any network structure, the occurrence of intralayer and interlayer synchronization depends mainly on the coupling functions of nodes within a layer and across layers, respectively. Our mathematical analysis requires that the intralayer and interlayer supra-Laplacians commute. But, we show this is only a sufficient, and not necessary, condition and that the results can be applied more generally.

Abstract: Communication overhead is one of the key challenges that hinders the scalability of distributed optimization algorithms. In this paper, we study local distributed SGD, where data is partitioned among computation nodes, and the computation nodes perform local updates with periodically exchanging the model among the workers to perform averaging. While local SGD is empirically shown to provide promising results, a theoretical understanding of its performance remains open. We strengthen convergence analysis for local SGD, and show that local SGD can be far less expensive and applied far more generally than current theory suggests. Specifically, we show that for loss functions that satisfy the Polyak-Łojasiewicz condition, $O((pT)^{1/3})$ rounds of communication suffice to achieve a linear speed up, that is, an error of $O(1/pT)$, where $T$ is the total number of model updates at each worker. This is in contrast with previous work which required higher number of communication rounds, as well as was limited to strongly convex loss functions, for a similar asymptotic performance. We also develop an adaptive synchronization scheme that provides a general condition for linear speed up. Finally, we validate the theory with experimental results, running over AWS EC2 clouds and an internal GPU cluster.

Abstract: LoRaWAN is one of the most promising standards for long-range sensing applications. However, the high number of end devices expected in at-scale deployment, combined with the absence of an effective synchronization scheme, challenge the scalability of this standard. In this paper, we present an approach to increase network throughput through a Slotted-ALOHA overlay on LoRaWAN networks. To increase the single channel capacity, we propose to regulate the communication of LoRaWAN networks using a Slotted-ALOHA variant on the top of the Pure-ALOHA approach used by the standard; thus, no modification in pre-existing libraries is necessary. Our method is based on an innovative synchronization service that is suitable for low-cost wireless sensor nodes. We modelled the LoRaWAN channel with extensive measurement on hardware platforms, and we quantified the impact of tuning parameters on physical and medium access control layers, as well as the packet collision rate. Results show that Slotted-ALOHA supported by our synchronization service significantly improves the performance of traditional LoRaWAN networks regarding packet loss rate and network throughput.

Abstract: In this paper, two multiple weighted coupled reaction–diffusion neural networks (CRDNNs) with and without coupling delays are introduced. On the one hand, some finite-time passivity (FTP) concepts are proposed for the spatially and temporally system with different dimensions of output and input. By choosing appropriate Lyapunov functionals and controllers, several sufficient conditions are presented to ensure the FTP of these CRDNNs. On the other hand, the finite-time synchronization (FTS) problem is also discussed for the multiple weighted CRDNNs with and without coupling delays, respectively. Finally, two numeral examples with simulation results are provided to verify the effectiveness of the obtained FTP and FTS criteria.

Abstract: Over the past two decades, the synchronization problem for dynamical networks has drawn significant attention due to its clear practical insight in biological systems, social networks, and neuroscience. In the case where a dynamical network cannot achieve the synchronization by itself, the feedback controller should be added to drive the network toward a desired orbit. On the other hand, the time delays may often occur in the nodes or the couplings of a dynamical network, and the existence of time delays may induce some undesirable dynamics or even instability. Moreover, in the course of implementing a feedback controller, the inevitable actuator limitations could downgrade the system performance and, in the worst case, destabilize the closed-loop dynamics. The main purpose of this paper is to consider the synchronization problem for a class of delayed dynamical networks with actuator saturations. Each node of the dynamical network is described by a nonlinear system with a time-varying delay and the intermittent control strategy is proposed. By using a combination of novel sector conditions, piecewise Lyapunov-like functionals and the switched system approach, delay-dependent sufficient conditions are first obtained under which the dynamical network is locally exponentially synchronized. Then, the explicit characterization of the controller gains is established by means of the feasibility of certain matrix inequalities. Furthermore, optimization problems are formulated in order to acquire a larger estimate of the set of initial conditions for the evolution of the error dynamics when designing the intermittent controller. Finally, two examples are given to show the benefits and effectiveness of the developed theoretical results.

Abstract: As deep neural networks get more complex and input datasets get larger, it can take days or even weeks to train a deep neural network to the desired accuracy. Therefore, enabling distributed deep learning at a massive scale is critical since it offers the potential to reduce the training time from weeks to hours. In this article, we present BlueConnect, an efficient communication library for distributed deep learning that is highly optimized for popular GPU-based platforms. BlueConnect decomposes a single all-reduce operation into a large number of parallelizable reduce–scatter and all-gather operations to exploit the tradeoff between latency and bandwidth and adapt to a variety of network configurations. Therefore, each individual operation can be mapped to a different network fabric and take advantage of the best performing implementation for the corresponding fabric. According to our experimental results on two system configurations, BlueConnect can outperform the leading industrial communication library by a wide margin, and the BlueConnect-integrated Caffe2 can significantly reduce synchronization overhead by 87% on 192 GPUs for Resnet-50 training over prior schemes.

Abstract: This paper investigates the fixed-time synchronization (FDTS) of complex networks with stochastic perturbations. A new control scheme is designed to realize the synchronization goal. Moreover, the designed controller without sign function is continuous, which means the chattering phenomenon in some previous results can be avoided. By constructing Lyapunov functionals, using the properties of the Weiner process as well as applying a designed comparison system, several FDTS criteria are obtained. Synchronization criteria of this paper are very general and can be utilized in directed and undirected weighted networks. Numerical simulations are given to illustrate the theoretical results.

Abstract: In this paper, we introduce two complex dynamical networks with multiweights, which have several different sorts of weights between two nodes. By means of Lyapunov functional method and pinning control technique, some sufficient conditions are derived to ensure the synchronization for proposed network models. Moreover, some adaptive strategies are given to acquire suitable coupling strengths and feedback gains. By exploiting these designed adaptive laws, several general criteria for network synchronization are established. Finally, two numerical examples are also provided to show the validity of the theoretical results.

Abstract: This paper studies the problem of synchronization for a class of stochastic complex dynamical networks. It designs for the first time a distributed impulsive protocol based on pinning control that involves a constant signal transmission delay to tackle synchronization issues of such networks. Novel criteria on network synchronization are established by employing a time-dependent Lyapunov functional and a mathematical induction approach, where information on the state variables themselves and their neighbors is sufficiently utilized. Moreover, it is shown that the frequency of impulsive occurrence, impulsive input delays, stochastic perturbations, and the feedback control strength can significantly affect the synchronization performance. Numerical simulations are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the derived theoretical results.

Abstract: LoRaWAN is one of the most promising standards for long-range sensing applications. However, the high number of end devices expected in at-scale deployment, combined with the absence of an effective synchronization scheme, challenge the scalability of this standard. In this paper, we present an approach to increase network throughput through a Slotted-ALOHA overlay on LoRaWAN networks. To increase the single channel capacity, we propose to regulate the communication of LoRaWAN networks using a Slotted-ALOHA variant on the top of the Pure-ALOHA approach used by the standard; thus, no modification in pre-existing libraries is necessary. Our method is based on an innovative synchronization service that is suitable for low-cost wireless sensor nodes. We modelled the LoRaWAN channel with extensive measurement on hardware platforms, and we quantified the impact of tuning parameters on physical and medium access control layers, as well as the packet collision rate. Results show that Slotted-ALOHA supported by our synchronization service significantly improves the performance of traditional LoRaWAN networks regarding packet loss rate and network throughput.

Abstract: This paper proposes a hybrid agent-based approach for the scheduling and synchronization of e-commerce logistics parks (EcLP). This is accomplished by integrating intelligent distribution centers within the e-commerce environment. The proposed platform has been developed based on an agent technology, which not only serves for decentralization and synchronization purposes but also it has been optimized for the transportation and logistics of the overall system. Moreover, mobile agent-based communication mechanisms between the hardware agents and the software agents were developed, and the proposed hybrid agent-based platform was implemented and tested based on a case study. Following this, the results were compared to a conventional system based on four main indicators.