January 2014 Vol. 12 No. 1

View from the Top

• Yasuyoshi Katayama, Senior Executive Vice President, NTT

  

  Overview
  Technical innovation in the world of information and communications technology (ICT) has certainly been amazing, especially in cloud computing, big data, and security. Today, the telecommunications industry is looking for even more technological leaps, and the NTT Group is playing a hub-like role in this endeavor. We asked Yasuyoshi Katayama, NTT Senior Executive Vice President, about the company’s objectives for 2014 "towards the next stage."

Front-line Researchers

• Masayuki Abe, Senior Distinguished Researcher, Research Group Leader, NTT Secure Platform Laboratories

  

  Abstract
  Masayuki Abe, an NTT Senior Distinguished Researcher, has been researching cryptography for over 20 years. He has played an important role in this special field even at an international level having written a number of papers on cryptographic theory and having served as executive committee chairman and program committee member for various international conferences. The origin of this active life is no doubt the personal relationships that he formed during his stays at prominent research laboratories in Switzerland and the United States. We last spoke with him in 2006. We sat down with him again recently to find out more about his research career and current issues, and we asked him to leave a message for young researchers.

Feature Articles: Software Development Technologies

• Software Development Technology Initiatives at NTT Laboratories

  

  Abstract
  A large amount of software is used within the NTT Group of companies. Development is in progress on much of this software, but this development does not always run smoothly. Because of this, the NTT Software Innovation Center conducts research and development of software development technology in order to increase the stability and efficiency of software development. This article reports on some of the research and development underway.

• Improving the Planning and Requirements Definition Process

  

  Abstract
  The first process in software development is the planning and requirements specification. In this process, the stakeholder requirements must be organized, and the requirements for implementing the software must be clarified. However, many issues arise with this process in practice, and improvement is therefore needed. In this article, we introduce our activities related to improving the planning and requirements specification process, including studying trends in research and practice.

• Test Automation Technology to Reduce Development Costs and Maintain Software Quality

  

  Abstract
  As companies increasingly strive to reduce the cost of software while maintaining its quality, interest in technology supporting software testing is also increasing since testing is vital to maintaining quality, and it accounts for a large share of the total development cost. Currently a large part of testing is done manually, which is expensive and prone to mistakes and oversights. In this article, we introduce technologies that automatically generate comprehensive test cases and test data from software design documents, as a way to resolve these types of problems.

• R&D Software Development Standards and their Operation

  

  Abstract
  The NTT Service Innovation Laboratories has created original software development standards for various quality levels from product incubation through to finished commercial products. These standards have been in operation for about four years and have been applied to approximately 200 software products, most of which were provided to business companies of the NTT Group. The developers and researchers in our laboratories have secured the quality and identified the risk of the products before releasing them under the responsibility of the authorized organization. This article describes our latest R&D (research and development) software development standards, including their features, operation, effects, and future developments.

Feature Articles: Optical Node and Switch Technologies for Implementing Flexible and Economical Networks

• Optical Node and Switch Technologies for Implementing Flexible and Economical Networks

  

  Abstract
  Network traffic is increasing rapidly, and high-performance optical nodes are needed to build networks that can handle it with flexibility and efficiency. This article introduces the latest technical trends in this area, including reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) technology, which is used to implement advanced optical nodes, and optical switching technology, which is the basis for the primary devices used for ROADM.

• Next-generation Optical Switch Technologies for Realizing ROADM with More Flexible Functions

  

  Abstract
  Colorless, directionless, and contentionless reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexing (CDC-ROADM) has been attracting considerable attention recently for its potential use in constructing cost-effective photonics transport networks in long-haul and metro area transmission systems and improving their operational flexibility. This article describes the latest trends in the research and development of optical switch technologies for realizing CDC-ROADM.

• WSS Module Technology for Advanced ROADM

  

  Abstract
  Wavelength selective switches (WSSs) are the key to implementing advanced reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexing (ROADM) with colorless- directionless-contentionless (CDC) functionality, but a complex module (subsystem) requires a skillful balance combining optical, mechanical, and control design technologies. This article discusses technical issues in implementing WSS from optical, mechanical, and control perspectives.

• Multicast Switch Technology that Enhances ROADM Operability

  

  Abstract
  A multicast switch is a compact and cost-effective optical switch that realizes a colorless, directionless, and contentionless function and enhances the operability of a multi-degree reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer. This article describes the circuit configuration and characteristics of the multicast switch, which employs a silica-based planar lightwave circuit.

Regular Articles

• Statistical Grammar Induction for Natural Language Parsing

  

  Abstract
  Parsing, or syntactic analysis, is a fundamental problem in natural language processing. A natural language parser begins with words of input and builds up a syntactic tree, applying grammar rules acquired from language corpora beforehand. This article focuses primarily on the acquisition of grammar rules from language corpora, which is called grammar induction, and describes recent advances in statistical grammar induction for statistical parsing.

Global Standardization Activities

• G.epon and Current Status of Related Standardization

  

  Abstract
  G.epon is an ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunication Standardization Sector) version of the system-level EPON (Ethernet passive optical network) standard that uses generic OMCI (ONT (optical network terminal) management and control interface) in SIEPON (Service Interoperability in EPON) package B. It was given consent in July 2013 and approved in September 2013. This article reports on G.epon, which is expected to be deployed in emerging nations and developing countries, and explains the current status of related standardization.

Papers Published in Technical Journals and Conference Proceedings

• Papers Published in Technical Journals and Conference Proceedings