Synchronization of chaotic maps through a noisy coupling channel with application to digital communication

While synchronization of coupled chaotic systems has been the subject of intensive research, many issues in this field remain open. Among the most important of these is robustness to channel noise: Can synchronization be guaranteed even if the coupling channel is noisy? This issue is of great significance if coupled chaotic systems are to find use in communications, as has been suggested by some researchers. In this paper, we show that chaotic maps can indeed be synchronized reliably even in the presence of some types of channel noise, simply through the use of thresholding. This synchronization is reliable and rapid enough to be useful in digitally implemented systems with finite precision. We also outline a simple communication scheme using the proposed synchronization method. S1063-651X 99 00901-0