June 2015 Vol. 13 No. 6

Front-line Researchers

• Tsuyoshi Ozawa, NTT Software Innovation Center,
  Akira Ajisaka, NTT DATA,
  Masatake Iwasaki, NTT DATA

  

  Overview
  In December 2014, three employees from the NTT Software Innovation Center and NTT DATA Corporation were elected as Hadoop committers (chief developers) in recognition of their activities in the Apache Hadoop development community and particularly their work in Apache Hadoop and related projects. The development of Apache Hadoop is progressing through the collaboration of software engineers around the world. About 3000 individuals are contributing to this effort, although there are only about 100 committers, who have the authority to rewrite programs in development and maintenance projects. The election of these three NTT Group employees represents the first committers from Japanese industry. We present here a close-up of these three individuals responsible for this outstanding achievement.

Feature Articles: Dwango × NTT R&D Collaboration

• Overview of Dwango × NTT R&D Collaboration

  

  Abstract
  Nearly two years have passed since Dwango Co., Ltd. and NTT signed a business collaboration agreement to enhance video and social services in July 2013. This collaboration between Japan’s largest video streaming service provider and a telecommunication carrier is an endeavor to explore solutions to issues commonly faced by the two companies, such as those related to networking, and it has begun to yield a number of noteworthy results. This article presents the objectives and the scope of this business collaboration and describes some of the results.

• Real-time Omnidirectional Video Streaming System

  

  Abstract
  NTT Media Intelligence Laboratories and Dwango Co., Ltd. have developed a system that makes it possible to view highly immersive video of live events captured by 360-degree omnidirectional camera using an interactive video distribution technology developed by NTT Media Intelligence Laboratories. Dwango has integrated this system with their Niconico Live broadcasting system and is now offering a real-time streaming service. We report the details of this service in this article.

• Quality of Experience Optimization Technology (Quality API)

  

  Abstract
  A collaboration between NTT and Dwango Co., Ltd., a video distribution company, is expected to improve the quality of experience (QoE) for customers. This article introduces a QoE optimization technology developed by NTT Network Technology Laboratories.

• Collaborative Trial: Application of HEVC Technology to Niconico Live

  

  Abstract
  Dwango Co., Ltd. operates Niconico Live, the largest live streaming service in Japan based on the legacy video codec H.264/MPEG-4 (Moving Picture Experts Group, version 4) AVC (Advanced Video Coding). Meanwhile, NTT Media Intelligence Laboratories has been working on a high-speed software encoder based on H.265/MPEG-H, also known as HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), the updated high-performance successor to H.264. Dwango and NTT have now joined forces in a collaborative trial to test and evaluate the new HEVC video compression standard.

Regular Articles

• Toward the Realization of Disaster-free Networks

  

  Abstract
  This article proposes a network concept called Disaster-free Network and the technologies used to implement it: a physical network design that is robust against spatial disaster, and network avoidance control. Two unique contributions are achieved with this research on the Disaster-free Network: a disaster management concept and a new area of research. The objective of a Disaster-free Network is to avoid or minimize encounters with disasters. This is a completely new concept of disaster management, which has previously been based on the provisioning and restoration of networks. The Disaster-free Network concept is implemented by appropriately designing or controlling the spatial and geographical shape of the network or the spatial and geographical locations of network objects. This kind of design and control is based on a method of evaluating the probability defined by geometrical events and opens up a new area of research.

Global Standardization Activities

• Standardization Activities for QoS/QoE-related Technologies in ITU-T

  

  Abstract
  In this article, the standardization activities for quality of service (QoS)/quality of experience (QoE)-related technologies in ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Standardization Sector), particularly in Study Group 12 (SG12), are introduced. First, the motivation behind efforts to standardize QoS/QoE-related technologies is reviewed, and then some of the key Recommendations are introduced. Finally, the topics attracting the most attention in SG12 are briefly discussed.

Practical Field Information about Telecommunication Technologies

• Method to Identify Conducted Disturbance Source of Malfunction of Telecommunication Services

  

  Abstract
  This article introduces equipment used to identify a conducted disturbance source in telecommunication equipment. This is the twenty-ninth of a bimonthly series on the theme of practical field information on telecommunication technologies. This month’s contribution is from the EMC Engineering Group, Technical Assistance and Support Center, Maintenance and Service Operations Department, Network Business Headquarters, NTT EAST.

External Awards/Papers Published in Technical Journals and Conference Proceedings

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