February 2019 Vol. 17 No. 2

View from the Top

• Motoyuki Ii, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Technology Planning, NTT

  

  Overview
  Innovation in digital technologies is disrupting existing industries while creating new value. At the same time, social phenomena such as an aging population with a declining birthrate and a shrinking labor force continue to have a major impact on consumer lifestyles and corporate activities in Japan. NTT has formulated a digital transformation strategy in the face of such social issues. We asked NTT Senior Executive Vice President Motoyuki Ii, a driving force behind this strategy, to tell us how he plans to deal with these issues as Chief Digital Officer.

Feature Articles: Keynote Speeches at NTT R&D Forum 2018 Autumn

• Jun Sawada, President and Chief Executive Officer, NTT

  

  Overview
  This article introduces an NTT Group effort in new value creation to bring the smart world to life. The contents of this article are based on a lecture presented by Jun Sawada, NTT President and Chief Executive Officer, at NTT R&D Forum 2018 Autumn held November 29−30, 2018.

• Katsuhiko Kawazoe, Senior Vice President, Head of Research and Development Planning, NTT

  

  Overview
  This article introduces NTT’s latest research and development activities based on a lecture presented by Katsuhiko Kawazoe, NTT Senior Vice President, Head of Research and Development Planning, at NTT R&D Forum 2018 Autumn held November 29−30, 2018.

Feature Articles: Value Creation by Leveraging State-of-the-art Research Results

• Ensuring Greater Safety for Our Firefighters and Our Communities: Integrating FLAIM Trainer^TM and hitoe^TM

  

  Abstract
  FLAIM Trainer^TM is an immersive, virtual reality (VR) firefighter training simulator with biosensing and real-time scenario analytics. It was developed in Australia through research at Deakin University and incorporates a patented digital biosensing fabric developed by NTT called hitoe^TM. The hitoe material provides real-time data readings of biomedical signals, for example, electrocardiogram or electromyogram signals. FLAIM Trainer revolutionizes the way emergency services train and prepare to fight fires. The immersive VR, haptics feedback, and breathing simulation provide firefighters with the ability to train for dangerous scenarios that are hard to reproduce in reality, expensive, and environmentally harmful.

• Utilization of NTT’s R&D Technology in the Financial Industry

  

  Abstract
  The financial industry is currently going through major transformations owing to a technological innovation called fintech (i.e., finance and technology). The NTT laboratories have been researching and developing a number of technologies that contribute to the promotion of fintech such as concealment technology for blockchain, artificial intelligence technology for automated responses to customers, and robotic process automation technology for improved operational efficiency, and we have been able to introduce these technologies via various NTT Group companies. This article introduces some collaborations with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., in cooperation with NTT Communications, that we have been implementing since fiscal year 2017. The future utilization of NTT technology in the field of fintech is also discussed.

• Initiatives in the Primary Industries (Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries) Utilizing Advanced Technology of the NTT Group

  

  Abstract
  Currently in Japan, primary industries such as agriculture are facing problems including a shrinking working population, an aging working population, and a decreasing area of agricultural land. Agritech―which utilizes the Internet of Things, big-data analysis, artificial intelligence (AI), and robot technology in the agricultural industry―is attracting attention as a trump card to solve these problems. In this article, concrete initiatives involving agritech, focusing on utilization of the NTT Group’s AI-related technology called corevo^®, are introduced, and future directions are discussed.

• Improving Amenities at Narita International Airport―Utilizing High-precision Indoor Maps and Geomagnetic Positioning to Facilitate the Movement of Visitors

  

  Abstract
  The number of international visitors to Japan has been soaring. At Narita International Airport, the gateway to Japan, we aim to create airport services that allow everyone to spend time comfortably via the concept of a smart airport. In September 2018, a service called NariNAVI―Japan’s first high-precision indoor navigation application introduced at an airport―was launched. This application utilizes geomagnetic positioning as indoor-positioning technology. To display the map, we adopted a 2.5D (two-and-a-half-dimensional) map, which stereoscopically expresses spaces inside complex airport terminals spanning multiple floors. Providing such a map that is intuitive and user-friendly supports customers’ smooth movement inside the airport.

• Creating Value from Deep Learning Technology and Its Business Applications

  

  Abstract
  NTT has positioned the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) as an important business strategy. NTT Software Innovation Center has been engaged in research and development aimed at creating value from the AI technology known as deep learning. In this article, we explain how the deep-learning inference environment can be optimized for business applications, namely by speeding it up, making processing lightweight, and saving labor. We also report on verification activities concerning the image-analysis business opportunities (such as surveillance-camera image analysis) generated by using that technology.

Regular Articles

• Highly Efficient Gate Controllability of Rashba Spin-orbit Interaction in a Gate-all-around InAs Nanowire MOSFET

  

  Abstract
  Indium arsenide (InAs) is a III-V semiconductor with high mobility that has attracted much attention as a next-generation semiconductor to replace the current silicon technology. At the same time, InAs is known to have a large spin-orbit interaction that causes electron spin precession even without an external magnetic field. Here, we report on an InAs nanowire metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) with a gate-all-around structure, where the gate electrode is arranged coaxially with the InAs channel. We not only show that our device has good FET properties such as a high ON/OFF ratio and high mobility but also demonstrate that the Rashba spin-orbit interaction is largely controlled with a small gate voltage range, with its efficiency being ten times larger than those obtained for previously reported III-V semiconductor MOS and Schottky FETs. This indicates that our FET is promising as a prototype of a low-power-consumption spin FET, in which transistor ON/OFF is controlled as a consequence of electron spin flips. Demonstration Trial of Nara Guide Bot―Kintetsu Railway and NTT Group’s Jointly Developed Information Guidance Service for Train Stations

Global Standardization Activities

• New Standardization Trends at GlobalPlatform―Secure Components for the IoT Era

  

  Abstract
  GlobalPlatform, which was founded as an international standardization organization targeting smart cards, has expanded its scope of standardization to include a variety of Secure Elements, Trusted Execution Environments, and devices. Furthermore, in the light of current trends surrounding the Internet of Things (IoT) and ecosystems, GlobalPlatform is broadening the functions it provides from application management to device trust management. This article introduces new initiatives toward the IoT and ecosystem era at GlobalPlatform, which has recently restructured its organization.

Practical Field Information about Telecommunication Technologies

• Investigation of the Cause of Disconnection of Call Parking on a Business Phone

  

  Abstract
  Network-interface engineers at the Technical Assistance and Support Center are providing technical support for local maintenance personnel who deal with customers using IP (Internet protocol) services and public switched telephone network related services. This article describes a problem concerning the disconnection of call parking in business phones. This is the fiftieth article in a series on telecommunication technologies.

Information

• Report on NTT R&D Forum 2018 Autumn

  

  Abstract
  NTT R&D Forum 2018 Autumn was held at NTT Musashino R&D Center November 26−30, 2018. (November 26 and 27 were set aside solely for the press and NTT Group employees.) This article provides an overall summary of the forum.

Short Reports

• Controlling Nuclear Magnetic Resonance with a Micromechanical Oscillator―A Novel Technique to Individually Manipulate Nuclear Spins in Integrated Devices

External Awards/Papers Published in Technical Journals and Conference Proceedings

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