Synchronization

The purpose of the panel is to spread knowledge and shed light on the problems of synchronization and to take steps toward the formulation of a theoretical framework which will also assist the practitioner. We are engaged in an attempt to point out to practicing engineers some of the things which are already well known and relatively obvious from a theoretical standpoint so that, hopefully, the time lag can be greatly reduced between the development of interesting theoretical results such as comma-free codes for the relatively noiseless channel and comma-free orthogonal codes for the Gaussian noisy channel, to name but two examples, and to implement these theoretical results in practical communication systems. From my own standpoint, the chairman feels that the most significant thing which this panel can accomplish is to cause a general awakening among engineers to the fact that there is a synchronization problem, and that it exists both as a theoretical and as a practical problem, and to stimulate thinking in both circles with the ultimate view toward finding a common framework in which the theoreticians are happy to work and from which the practical communications system designers can readily borrow. I believe that this is a goal which is obtainable and one toward which many in the audience here today are capable of contributing. The topics discussed are: synchronization in data communication; on synchronization in communication theory; synchronization and bit timing; and word synchronization over noisy channels.