Each simulated link carries a fixed-rate stream of control/haptic packets (λ = 500 pkt/s) from the command center down a shared uplink of total capacity Btotal. Bandwidth is split by priority weight wi:
B_i = (w_i / Σw) · B_total
μ_i = 1000 · B_i / packet_size_kbit (service rate, pkt/s)
Queueing delay follows the standard M/M/1 result for mean wait time in the queue:
W_i = 1 / (μ_i − λ_i), valid only while μ_i > λ_i
ρ_i = λ_i / μ_i (link utilization — ρ_i → 1 means saturation)
Round-trip time also includes real fiber propagation delay (light in fiber travels at ≈200,000 km/s) plus the jitter buffer you configure:
RTT_i = 2·(distance_i / 200,000 km/s) + W_i + buffer_ms
A larger jitter buffer smooths out packet-arrival variance but adds fixed latency — the classic networking trade-off. When RTT_i exceeds the ≈250 ms safety threshold used in telesurgery guidance (well above the <100 ms optimum for fine manual dexterity), the arm's controller stops trusting the delayed command stream and freezes in an autonomous hold, exactly as safety-rated surgical robot controllers are designed to do rather than execute a stale, unsafe motion command.
- Total uplink budget — shared capacity across all three simultaneous procedures.
- Priority weights — how the command center's traffic shaper divides that capacity.
- Jitter buffer — trades smoothness for latency.
- Background load — extra traffic competing for the same links, raising effective demand.