NTT Highlights Industry AI Cloud to Advance Industry-Specific AI Applications at R&D Forum 2024

World’s-first breakthroughs exhibited during event include IOWN and NTT’s All-Photonics Network, Personalized Sound Zones and more 

News Highlights:

• NTT President and CEO Akira Shimada discussed company’s development of the Industry AI Cloud to advance industry-specific AI applications empowered by the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN).
• NTT also demonstrated five world’s-first R&D breakthroughs in photonic networking, remote video production, optical fiber innovation and Personalized Sound Zone open-ear headphones.
• 2024 NTT R&D Forum, an invite-only event, occurred in Tokyo, Japan Nov. 25-29, 2024. For more information, visit the event webpage.

NTT Highlights Industry AI Cloud to Advance Industry-Specific AI Applications at R&D Forum 2024

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Nick Gibiser
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NTT Corporation (NTT) hosted their annual R&D Forum Nov. 25-29 in Tokyo, Japan to showcase the company’s global commitment to developing innovative new solutions that create a more sustainable society for all. During a special keynote, NTT President and CEO Akira Shimada discussed the role the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) will play in enabling NTT’s Industry AI Cloud, a shared platform designed to digitize and structure industry-specific expertise enabling industries to expand their scope of problem-solving. For example, NTT and Toyota Motor Corporation recently announced a joint initiative to realize a society with no traffic accidents utilizing the Industry AI Cloud “Mobility AI Platform.”

Other industry-specific AI-driven applications include the provision of personalized medical care, drug development, supply chain optimization, agricultural value chain management and more.

“AI has already been widely adopted to streamline general operations, but applying AI to more specialized tasks can significantly enhance added value,” said Shimada. “Furthermore, by accumulating data across companies on a shared platform and leveraging AI, industries can collectively address societal challenges and contribute to their resolution. We call this the Industry AI Cloud, and NTT is actively collaborating across various industries to realize this vision with partners."

During the 2024 R&D Forum exhibition, NTT demonstrated five world’s-first R&D breakthroughs, including: the first international connection of NTT’s All-Photonics Network (APN); the application of the APN to advance cloud endoscopy capabilities and live remote video production; the development of optical transmission lines with four times the capacity of current optical fibers; and open-ear, noise-canceling Personalized Sound Zone (PSZ)-capable headphones.

“NTT’s dedication to global R&D investment provides a unique competitive advantage as we work not only to improve society through technological innovation today but also pre-emptively solve the problems of the next decade and the next half-century,” said Katsuhiko Kawazoe, senior executive vice president, CTO, CIO and CDO of NTT. “Annual events such as the NTT R&D Forum in Tokyo and NTT Research Upgrade near Silicon Valley offer a first-hand look at the future of technological innovation while fostering vital conversations on how to harness that innovation to create a better future for all.”

Demonstrations of world’s-first R&D breakthroughs included:

1. APN First International Connection: NTT and Chunghwa Telecom showcase virtual reality proof-of-concept connecting Taipei and Tokyo with IOWN
NTT and Chunghwa Telecom demonstrated a proof-of-concept application connecting Taipei and Tokyo with the IOWN APN—the world’s first such international connection. The companies leveraged the connection to unveil an ultra-low-latency interactive immersive video show, allowing users in both Taiwan and Japan to join a virtual space to watch virtual reality (VR) performances and interact with each other. With the high bandwidth and low latency characteristics of IOWN APN technology, cloud-rendered high-quality VR images significantly lighten the load on user-end devices and reduce VR-induced sickness. NTT and Chunghwa Telecom signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly advance the evolution and implementation of IOWN technology on Oct. 25, 2023, launching the world’s first international connection with the IOWN APN on Aug. 29, 2024. [Read the Full Release]

2. World's First Cloud Endoscopy System: Demonstration of IOWN APN's low-latency capability for real-time diagnosis and treatment on a remote server
NTT and Olympus Corporation announced the joint establishment of a cloud endoscopy system utilizing the IOWN APN, demonstrating that the APN technology can solve associated network issues. An endoscope is a medical device in which a flexible tube is inserted into the natural openings of the body to perform an examination and obtain tissue samples. They are used increasingly more often due to the equipment’s low level of invasiveness and high level of safety. However, current endoscopes handle all its functions within the endoscope device, making performance limitations and maintainability an issue. NTT and Olympus are developing an endoscopy system in which functions with high processing loads, such as image processing, can be done on the cloud. [Read the Full Release]

3. Optical Fiber Innovation: The world's first automatic rotation alignment connection and branching/connecting technology with existing optical fibers
NTT researchers developed a lineup of on-site construction, maintenance and operation technologies essential for the commercial introduction of four-core multi-core optical fiber (MCF) optical transmission lines, which enable a single communication optical fiber to have four times the capacity of current optical fibers. This achievement is expected to accelerate the practical application of four-core MCF optical transmission lines in inter-data center optical communications, where the demand for optical fiber cores continues to grow exponentially, and in submarine optical transmission sections, where optical fiber mounting space in optical cables is limited. [Read the Full Release]

4. The Future of Personalized Sound Zones: The world's first broadband noise-canceling technology for open-ear headphones that reduces ambient noise without covering users’ ears
NTT has developed Active Noise Control (ANC) technology for open-ear headphones that do not cover the ears, reducing ambient noise near the ears. NTT’s Personalized Sound Zone (PSZ) technology is the ultimate private sound space in which desired sounds can be heard only by oneself without leaking to others, and undesired sounds can be reduced. Conventional open-ear headphones with noise-canceling features can only reduce sound below 1,000 Hz. However, NTT’s new ANC technology can reduce noise above 1,000 Hz in PSZ open-ear headphones. Looking ahead, NTT will continue to commercialize open-ear headphones incorporating this technology, including through NTT sonority, Inc., while also studying applications in real environments such as crowded streets and mobility. In addition, NTT aims to integrate this technology with the Acoustic XR Technology, which combines virtual sound heard through headphones with real sound heard directly by the ear, creating new audio experiences such as immersive entertainment and audio guides. [Read the Full Release]

5. Live Video Production Digital Transformation: Japan's first fully remote live production environment using IOWN APN
NTT and Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. (TBS) successfully created a remote video production environment that connects production sites and filming sites via the IOWN APN, a step towards eliminating the need to dispatch outside broadcasting vehicles and production staff to filming sites; for example, to broadcast live events at stadiums and arenas. The high-capacity, low-latency, fluctuation-free APN enables large-capacity video transmission for multiple cameras, real-time remote camera control and Precision Time Protocol (PTP) time synchronization between video equipment at remote locations. This demonstration overcomes key challenges with conventional video production technology, including: the impossibility of simultaneously transmitting multiple camera images in a large capacity from a filming location to a remote production base; large delays in camera control signals and headset audio information disrupting communication between a crew and remote producer; and the difficulty of maintaining a stable communication environment.

The theme of this year’s forum was IOWN INTEGRAL, which has two meanings—"integration" and "indispensable"— to reflect NTT’s dedication implementing IOWN across a wide range of applications, including advanced telecommunications infrastructure and artificial intelligence. Annually, NTT invests $3.6 billion in its global scientific research and technology R&D initiatives. For more information about the NTT R&D Forum 2024, please visit: https://www.rd.ntt/e/forum/2024/

About NTT

NTT contributes to a sustainable society through the power of innovation. We are a leading global technology company providing services to consumers and businesses as a mobile operator, infrastructure, networks, applications and consulting provider. Our offerings include digital business consulting, managed application services, workplace and cloud solutions, data center and edge computing, all supported by our deep global industry expertise. We are over $97B in revenue and 330,000 employees, with $3.6B in annual R&D investments. Our operations span across 80+ countries and regions, allowing us to serve clients in over 190 of them. We serve over 75% of Fortune Global 100 companies, thousands of other enterprise and government clients and millions of consumers.

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