November 2022 Vol. 20 No. 11

View from the Top

• Yo Honma, President and Chief Executive Officer, NTT DATA

  

  Abstract
  It has been over half a century since the Data Communications Division was established within the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (now NTT) in 1967, which was spun off as NTT DATA in 1988. NTT DATA has earned the trust of many of its clients by understanding their business operations and using its technology to create and operate new systems that support society. We interviewed Yo Honma, president and chief executive officer of NTT DATA, who is leading the company’s transformation while maintaining long-term relationships with clients, about the business environment surrounding NTT DATA and his thoughts as a top executive.

Front-line Researchers

• Junji Watanabe, Senior Distinguished Researcher, NTT Communication Science Laboratories, NTT Social Informatics Laboratories, and NTT Human Informatics Laboratories

  

  Abstract
  To develop information and communication technologies that enable heart-to-heart communication, researchers at Human Information Science Laboratory in NTT Communication Science Laboratories study the information-processing mechanisms underlying human perception and emotion on the basis of information science, psychology, and neuroscience. We interviewed Junji Watanabe, a senior distinguished researcher investigating the mechanism of tactile sensation and its application to transmission technology as well as supporting the improvement of well-being, about the progress of his research.

Rising Researchers

• Takahiro Suzuki, Distinguished Researcher, NTT Access Network Service Systems Laboratories

  

  Abstract
  Optical access networks are the networks connecting users to telecom central offices, and current trends of increasing traffic, services for mobile devices, and low-latency or high-reliability edge computing are creating a range of new requirements that these networks must be able to accommodate. We have asked Distinguished Researcher Takahiro Suzuki to talk with us about software-based optical access network virtualization technology that will be able to handle such requirements.

Feature Articles: Research and Development for Enabling the Remote World

• Toward the Remote World in Which Life Is Many Times More Enjoyable—From “Remote by Necessity” to “Remote by Choice”

  

  Abstract
  The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has forced people to change their lifestyles and become remote. To enable people to choose a remote lifestyle or combine remote and real-world lifestyles so as to enrich their lives, NTT Human Informatics Laboratories is aiming to enable the Remote World unique to the post-pandemic era in two ways: (i) identifying and analyzing issues specific to new lifestyles from a wide range of perspectives including not only technology but also social science and humanities and (ii) promoting research and development regarding such issues.

• Efforts Concerning Enhancement of Human Ability to Achieve the Remote World

  

  Abstract
  To achieve the Remote World for providing a unique remote-user experience, NTT Human Informatics Laboratories is developing technologies to enhance human abilities. We are developing two technologies that target motor skills and embodied knowledge (which are difficult to verbalize). The first, motor-skill-transfer technology, collects objectively observable information (such as surface electromyograms and electroencephalograms) and shares this information with people by directly transmitting it through electrical stimulation of muscles. The second, embodied-knowledge technology, captures subjective sensations that occur within a person and transmits and shares these sensations so that others can experience similar sensations.

• Telepresence Technology to Facilitate Remote Working with Human Physicality

  

  Abstract
  Remote work allows people to free themselves from geographical and temporal constraints, and there are calls for it to be made available as an option for essential workers for whom it is not readily applicable. This article introduces our efforts to develop telepresence technology with which a person can use an artificial body or robot to sense the situation at a remote location and interact with other people and the environment in the same way as when working in the field. Thus, they can carry out their required tasks and engage in face-to-face communication without any discomfort or hindrance.

• Harmonic Reproduction Technology between a Real Venue and Remote Audiences

  

  Abstract
  NTT Human Informatics Laboratories has been researching and developing technology to reproduce the appearance of an audience enjoying a live-streamed event online remotely from home (remote audience) at the venue where the event is being held (real venue) while harmonizing it with the situation at the real venue. At the 34th Mynavi TOKYO GIRLS COLLECTION 2022 SPRING/SUMMER held on March 21, 2022, a demonstration experiment was conducted to support the excitement of the event by using low-latency video communication and cross-modal sound search to reproduce pseudo cheers at the real venue for both real-venue and remote audience members who could not cheer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article introduces the activities of this demonstration experiment.

• Emotional-perception-control Technology for Estimating and Leading Human Emotions

  

  Abstract
  The number of people who participate in live music and sporting events in remote environments has been increasing; however, participants must sacrifice the emotional experiences that can only be obtained on site, such as enthusiasm, a sense of unity, and contagious enthusiasm of the audience. Toward the creation of a world where people’s emotions are actively amplified and resonate even in remote environments, we introduce an emotional-perception-control technology for generating a personal virtual site where participants can experience the unique pleasures of virtual reality through estimating their emotional-expression characteristics and leading (guiding) their emotions based on these characteristics.

Feature Articles: Toward Open and Intelligent Wireless Networks

• Initiatives toward Open RAN

  

  Abstract
  The fifth-generation mobile communications system (5G) network will need to support a wide range of services compared with past networks. To meet this need, it will be necessary to construct a flexible network that can accommodate all types of services. The Open Radio Access Network (RAN) can make this a reality. This article provides an overview of Open RAN, presents the current state of the O-RAN ALLIANCE that promotes Open RAN standards, and describes the 5G Open RAN Ecosystem, a new NTT DOCOMO Open RAN initiative.

• Initiatives toward Virtualized RAN

  

  Abstract
  There is growing demand for high processing performance in wireless base-station equipment as bit rates and capacity continue their upward trend in Long-Term Evolution and fifth-generation mobile communications system networks. To meet this demand, NTT DOCOMO has been using purpose-built hardware and software. There has also been remarkable technical innovation in cloud computing for web services, as reflected by ongoing improvements in hardware performance and increasing decoupling of hardware and software provided via virtualization and cloud-computing technologies. These innovative technologies should lead to superior wireless base-station design and solutions so that a more disaggregated and efficient radio access network (RAN) can be achieved. The development and commercialization of such equipment is moving forward as RAN virtualization is becoming predominant. This article describes NTT DOCOMO initiatives toward RAN virtualization technology.

• Initiatives toward Intelligent RAN

  

  Abstract
  The network of the fifth-generation mobile-communications-system era must be able to support many and varied applications, which means ever increasing complexity. It will therefore not be easy to control and optimize network operations by manual means as done in the past. NTT DOCOMO is developing radio access network (RAN) Intelligent Controller (RIC) technology now being standardized at the O-RAN ALLIANCE with the aim of achieving more autonomous and automatic RAN operations, that is, intelligent RAN, by using machine learning and other forms of artificial intelligence, big data, etc. This article describes the state of RIC standardization at the O-RAN ALLIANCE and presents NTT DOCOMO’s approach to use cases and a roadmap toward intelligent RAN.

Regular Articles

• Extreme-broadband Analog ICs Based on InP HBT Technology toward Multi-Tbit/s Optical Communications

  

  Abstract
  To cope with the rapid growth of communications traffic, transmission capacity per channel (wavelength) in optical core networks is required to reach the multi-Tbit/s level in the next decade. In this article, we review our latest extreme-broadband analog integrated circuits (ICs), e.g., 110-GHz-bandwidth analog multiplexer/analog de-multiplexer ICs and 200-GHz-bandwidth amplifier, mixer, and combiner ICs, based on our in-house indium phosphide (InP) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology that can break through the bandwidth bottlenecks in optical transceivers and be key enablers toward future multi-Tbit/s/ch optical communications systems.

Global Standardization Activities

• Report of the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2022 (WTDC-22)

  

  Abstract
  The eighth World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-22) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was held in Kigali, Rwanda, from 6 to 16 June 2022. This article gives an overview of the conference and its major deliberations.

Information

• Event Report: NTT Communication Science Laboratories Open House 2022

  

  Abstract
  NTT Communication Science Laboratories Open House 2022 was held online, the content of which was published on the Open House 2022 web page at noon on June 2nd, 2022. The videos of 6 talks and 29 exhibits presented our latest research efforts in information and human sciences and were viewed more than 5000 times in the first month after the event.

External Awards/Papers Published in Technical Journals and Conference Proceedings

• External Awards/Papers Published in Technical Journals and Conference Proceedings