2024

Open Up Bright Future

XrossB5G
Beyond 5G R&D Promotion Unit

National Institute of Information and Communications Technology

Make a New Connection
Japan-Germany Beyond 5G/6G Research Workshop
Beyond 5G Zero Gravity Event
Experiencing Virtual Reality: "A New Society Realized by Beyond 5G"
Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2024 Exhibition Notes
Event Briefs

SpringEnglish Edition

1 Preface
FeatureMake a New Connection
2 Japan-Germany Beyond 5G/6G Research Workshop−Toward Launching Specific Research and Development through Japan-Germany Collaboration−

3 Beyond 5G Zero Gravity Event−New Awareness from Expanding Discussions and Research Issues through Cross-Industry Exchange−

4 Experiencing Virtual Reality: "A New Society Realized by Beyond 5G"−Use of technology to transcend industry boundaries−

6 Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2024 Exhibition Notes−Beyond 5G projected on the dome theater Bonds with the World Woven by Future Society−11 Event Briefs−A summary of lectures and other events held at various locations−March 29, 2024.

Preface
As an expert in information and communications technology, NICT first published the results ofdiscussions toward the realization of Beyond 5G in the "Beyond 5G/6G White Paper" in March 2021. Since
then, we have continued the cycle of repeated discussions with many people through this white paper andupdating the white paper with the results of the discussions. In the course of updating this white paper,
we came to understand that there are aspects that cannot be fully expressed in the form of a white paper,
such as the status of activities related to interaction with stakeholders and the timely disclosure of
information on the latest R & D at NICT.
We have therefore decided to move away from the white paper format and take the form of a newsletterand start anew as "Xross B5G," a tool for communicating with you.

About four times a year, we will

provide you with information about various activities related to NICT's R & D for the realization of Beyond
5G, with a sense of liveliness, for example, the status of exchange activities such as “Ideation” with external
experts aimed at providing feedback to NICT's R & D, trends in the latest Beyond 5G technologies developedat NICT that are not covered in the white paper, and the development process of a proof of concept system
based on the Beyond 5G architecture with the cooperation of universities.
We hope that this booklet will create new connections with you and further expand the circle of discussion
toward the realization of Beyond 5G.

Iwao Hosako
Executive Director of Beyond 5G Research and Development Promotion Unit

Xross B5G 2024 Spring|1Japan-Germany Beyond 5G/6G Research Workshop−Toward Launching Specific Research and Development through Japan-Germany Collaboration−

The Japan-Germany Beyond 5G/6G Research Workshop was held as an opportunity for Japanese andGerman Beyond 5G/6G researchers to gather together, exchange views on the direction to be taken,
introduce the latest research results, and explore the possibility of collaborative matching. It was hosted
by NICT and 6G Platform Germany and has been held three times so far as shown in the table below.
Japanese participants included researchers from the NICT, researchers commissioned by the Beyond 5G
R & D Promotion Project, and representatives from The Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium, as well as
telecommunications carriers, electrical equipment manufacturers, and academic societies.

Germanparticipants included universities and related companies, mainly from four research hubs (6G-Life, 6G-RIC,
6GEM, and Open6GHub) commissioned by the BMBF (German Federal Ministry of Education andResearch).
The content of the program was planned not only to give lectures on initiatives, but also to emphasizeinteractive discussions such as panel lectures and poster sessions. In particular, in the third workshop, weplanned a demonstration exhibition and were able to have equipment brought in from Germany. Throughthese initiatives, we have made friends who are familiar with us, and are building a network of people.
Joint research often begins with personal connections, and new research projects are actually emerging
from the human relationships that have deepened here. We would like to draw your attention to future
research on Beyond 5G/6G through collaboration between Japan and Germany.
The fourth workshop is scheduled to be held in conjunction with the Berlin 6G Conference on July 2-4,2024. Details will be posted on the website of the Beyond 5G Research and Development Promotion Unit.

TABLE
Date
1st

2

nd

April 24-25,
2023
June 28-29,
2023

3rd

February 5-6,
2024

Status of Workshops

Participants
73 (51)
Hundreds of people
participated in theevent (12)85 (62）

Location
NICT Headquarters (Koganei,
Tokyo)
Berlin Conference Center

Co-located with the(Berlin, Germany）

Berlin 6G Conference

NICT Innovation Center（Nihonbashi, Tokyo）

The number of participants from Japan is shown inparentheses.

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Xross B5G 2024 Spring

Remarks

Beyond 5G Zero Gravity Event−New Awareness from Expanding Discussions and Research Issues through Cross-Industry Exchange−

NICT has published the "Beyond 5G/6G White Paper" to present its vision for the realization of Beyond
5G to people inside and outside the organization. On the other hand, in order to realize Beyond 5G, it isnecessary not only to advance R & D of elemental technologies individually, but also to deepen technologies
in anticipation of new services to be created by Beyond 5G through collaboration and co-creation withvarious business sectors and industries. For this reason, the "Beyond 5G Zero Gravity Event*1" has been
held five times since February 2023, as shown in the table below. The purpose of this event is for NICT
researchers to engage in in-depth discussions with people from different industries to discover new insights
and ideas about research and to form a continuous community with people from cross-industries.
At each event, topics were provided by various industries and lightning talks were held by NICT
researchers. Participants discussed services that combine multiple industries/data and information andcommunications research/technology. The fifth event was a two-day event that included a tour of the
Fukuoka PayPay Dome facility and information exchange with information technology staff. There were
heated discussions on how to revitalize the local community and new services beyond industry.
Many participants*2 from different industries, who do not usually have the opportunity to be involved,
gathered at the event. It was a good opportunity for them to think deeply about problems to be solved torealize Beyond 5G from different viewpoints, to come up with ideas that lead to new businesses, and tonotice new problems in promoting R & D related to Beyond 5G. In addition, it led to the recognition andappeal of NICT research to participants from different industries, and it also became a place for continuous
community formation to collaborate and create with people from different industries. By changing thecontent of each lecture, the theme, and the group members, the discussion was activated so that each teamcan have heated discussions and ideas full of originality.
*1 The name of the event, "zero gravity," is used to indicate that the participants will have a frank discussion regardless of theirorganization, position, age, etc.
*2 There were also participants from the automobile, construction, insurance, sports, transportation, electricity, agriculture andtravel industries, as well as universities and local governments.

TABLE
Date

List of previous events

Participants

Theme
Current status of each industry and expectations for

1stFebruary 3, 2023

45 (27)

2nd

November 2, 2023

36 (25)

3rd

November 29, 2023

31 (15)What services are offered in cities on the Moon?

4th

January 22, 2024

29 (16)

What we want to achieve across time and space

5th

March 15-16, 2024

33 (14)

Next Generation Stadium x Regional Revitalization

Beyond 5G
When the Cybernetic Avatar Society becomes a
reality

The number of participants from NICT is shown in parentheses.

Xross B5G 2024 Spring|3

Experiencing Virtual Reality: "A New Society Realized by Beyond 5G"−Use of technology to transcend industry boundaries−
In order to realize Beyond 5G, NICT is conducting R & D on leading-edge elemental technologies andBeyond 5G architecture as a mechanism for utilization across industrial boundaries. In April 2023, wedeveloped a system that allows people to experience the future society, in which all industries will beconnected and create new value through the realization of Beyond 5G around 2030, and our lives will
become richer and more convenient. This system allows people to experience the future society throughphysical space and cyberspace.
In this experience, the story highlights theseafood supply chain in order to see behind thescenes the development of human, energy andenvironment-friendly technologies and how
they create new value. The story is divided into
four

scenes:"Catching,""Cooking,""Transporting," and "Eating." They describe theprocess from the time fish is caught in the ocean
to the time it is served on people's tables.

In

addition to improving the convenience of people's lives through the use of state-of-the-art elemental
technologies for realizing Beyond 5G, new value-added functions called "orchestrators" that link different
industries and people create new services and solve social issues such as reducing energy consumption.
These activities can be experienced in VR through physical space and cyberspace.
This system was later modified so that it could be projected onto a dome theater. Together with the VR
system, it was used at a total of 23 exhibitions in fiscal 2023, including various exhibition events, academic
conferences, and events and lectures at high schools, technical colleges, and universities, and wasexperienced by more than 1,700 people.

■ Catching
Fish can be captured easily from fish school dataobtained

from

HAPS,

smart

buoys,

andunderwater drones, and future catch volumes canbe predicted in cyberspace from current catch
volume trends.

In addition, you can experience

how the "orchestrator" accurately grasps thenecessary catch amount according to the needs ofconsumers and catches based on it, leading to thestabilization of income of fishery workers and the conservation of fishery resources.

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Xross B5G 2024 Spring■ Cooking
At fish processing factories, the cooking process
is handled by avatar robots controlled by cooks,
which improves hygiene and quality control andtheworkingenvironment.

In

addition,"Orchestrator" aims to connect people who work
across time and space, so you can gather cooks fromaround the country according to customer's
cooking needs and operate the avatar robot from aremote location to cook quickly without losing freshness. You can experience how new types of catering
services are provided, such as delivery cooking by first class chefs.

■ Transporting
Progress in autonomous driving technology andthe spread of flying cars can significantly reduce
traffic accidents and traffic jams. In addition, you
can also experience the overall reduction of energy
consumption for transportation by combining
delivery packages according to the destination,
reducing the frequency of truck transportation, andtransferring package transportation to a taxi on theway, through the use of "orchestrator" for collaboration among vendors.

■ Eating
You can shop from home using your supermarket
avatar.

In addition, through the matching conductedby the "orchestrator", a new service was created inwhich consumers can purchase fish directly fromfishermen, allowing consumers to obtain rare fish. You
can also experience how food loss can be reduced byhaving fishermen sell unused fish, which had
previously been discarded, directly to consumers on
board.

In fiscal 2024, a new story was added in which the main Beyond 5G character "Sakura-chan" and a flying
car take a stroll through the future society of the 2030s and beyond. You can experience Beyond 5G
technologies, orchestrator functions, and use cases in an easy-to-understand manner. We hope you will
experience it firsthand at exhibitions and other events.
*If you have any requests for classes or exhibits, please contact us at the address below.
B5G-inquiry@ml.nict.go.jp

Xross B5G 2024 Spring|5

Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2024 Exhibition Notes−Beyond 5G projected on the dome theater Bonds with the World Woven by Future Society−Mobile World Congress (MWC) is
one of the world's largest mobile
technology trade shows, organizedby the GSM Association and held
annually at the Fira de Barcelona in
Barcelona, Spain.
It is also known as an event that
attracts a great deal of attention froma wide range of industries, including
the ICT industry, with a large number of exhibitors from a wide range of parties, including
telecommunications carriers, vendors, and service providers. It is attended by more than 100,000 people
from more than 200 countries. It is a huge global event where you can experience world-class technology
trends.
At the end of last year, it was decided for the first time this year that NICT would exhibit at such aworldwide international exhibition. It was decided that some of the R & D results related to Beyond 5G
would be exhibited, and preparations began at a rapid pace. The NICT booth is in the corner on the front
left side of the Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium frame of "Japan Pavilion" where Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communications and 15 Japanese companies will exhibit.

The exhibition floor is about three times the size of Tokyo Big Sight, and the Fira Barcelona Gran Via
exhibition hall is huge, and it takes a few minutes to walk from the hall entrance to the Japan Pavilion. It
is large enough to look at, and it is not possible to go around in one day.

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Xross B5G 2024 Spring

The NICT exhibits are as follows.

For Cross-industry / Non-Professional
・Dome Theater Projects the Beyond 5G Future Life of
the 2030s Drawn by NICT [Beyond 5G Design
Initiative]

・

NICT overall Poster [Public Relations Department]

For professionals
・

Uncompressed Wireless Transmission Demonstrationof 4K Video Using 300 GHz Band Radio Wave
[Terahertz Laboratory]

・Video Transmission Demonstration Using 60 GHzBand High-Capacity Instantaneous Wireless Link
[Social-ICT System Laboratory]

Xross B5G 2024 Spring|

7

The Beyond 5G Research and Development Promotion Unit has explained the future vision (concept) of
Beyond 5G and the technologies that support it (elemental technologies), as well as the Beyond 5Garchitecture based on the white paper published by NICT, to the general public and companies at Japanese
exhibitions. This is the first large-scale exhibition at an overseas event such as MWC. The biggest
challenges this time were the procedures involved in the export of experimental equipment to be exhibited
as research results, the local assembly of those equipment, and the assembly and adjustment of the Dome
Theater. A total of 12 staff members headed for Barcelona, Spain, two days before the event to prepare forthe venue, while coordinating a tight schedule from exhibition planning to preparation and delivery of theexhibits.

Monday, February 26, the First Day:
Around 20 minutes after the start, visitors came in. The Japan Pavilion is located in Hall6 at the far endof the entrance, and it will take some time to get here. After confirming the first visitors, a wave of people
formed one after another, and in no time the Japan Pavilion was full of people and the NICT booth was
crowded with many people. The "Dome Theater" we exhibited had a unique size and shape, and there wasno end to the number of people who wanted to look inside and experience "What is this?" and "What can I
see?"

The content of the “Dome Theater” experiences this time was a new three-part version of Chapter1,2,3, astory in which you walk around the future society after the 2030s with the Beyond 5G main character"Sakura-chan" and a flying car. If you haven't experienced it yet, please try it at an exhibition.
Chapter1. Look for a Beyond 5G Technology
Chapter2. Orchestrator Function
Chapter3. Optimized Supply Chain Use Cases

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Xross B5G 2024 SpringWe introduced NICT to students (local students were exempted from the high admission fee), telecom
operators, vendors, event organizers, service providers, and government officials, and gave them a chance
to experience the Beyond 5G future society. "Great!" "That's cool!" "Wow! after 2030?" Everyone comes outof the theater dome looking happy.

After the experience, I signed (illustrated) the paper dome incommemoration. When I realized it, the area around the dome theater was filled with signs and illustrations,and it was hard to find the blank space. (Some people just signed as they passed by.) Each letter was
filled with a feeling, and sometimes some people would lay on the ground and draw Japanese animation
characters well.

Xross B5G 2024 Spring|9Thursday, February 29, the Final Day:
On the final day, which was a big success,1000 sets of "N-kun" Congress Bags
containing

Japanese

pamphlets

andnovelty goods (“Tenugui” hand towels
with the NICT logo were quite popular)
were completely gone in the morning, andnearly 500 people experienced it at the"Dome Theater" exhibited by the Beyond
5G Research and Development Promotion Unit. For the four days that lasted from 9 am to 7 pm (the lastday was closed at 4 pm), my legs and hips were in tatters, and the Spanish air was so dry that my throat wasdry and I was honestly very tired, but I still remember the happy smiles of all those who were connectedwith many people across countries and talked with excitement about the upcoming Beyond 5G society.
I am now looking forward to the
future of Beyond 5G in the 2030s andbeyond, and to the world where R &D on Beyond 5G technology, which
will be the foundation not only forcommunications but also for society
as a whole, will further advance andtake shape.

※Mobile World Congress(MWC) Barcelona 2024

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Xross B5G 2024 Springhttps://www.mwcbarcelona.com

Event Briefs−A summary of lectures and other events held at various locations−Thursday, January 25, 2024

Dr. Ishizu, Director of the Beyond 5G Design Initiative, NICT, gave a lecture at the ICT
Research & Development Support Seminar.
The "ICT Research & Development Support Seminar" was held at the Kumamoto Castle Hall, co-sponsoredby the Kyushu Bureau of Telecommunications, the Kyushu Island Alliance of ICT, and the NICT.
From NICT, Kentaro Ishizu, Director of the Beyond 5G Design Initiative, gave a lecture entitled "Industrial
Activities in Ten Years' Time, Changed by Beyond 5G" on important concepts such as the fusion of cyberspaceand physical space (CPS) and Beyond 5G architecture that creates new services across industrial fields throughsystem collaboration.
At the exhibition corner in the venue, we exhibited VR contents that allowed participants to experience themechanism of Beyond 5G through the "Shape of Industry After the 2030s Changed by Beyond 5G (Supply Chainof the Fisheries Industry)," which was experienced by an extremely large number of participants.
*ICT Research & Development Support Seminar (Kyushu Bureau of Telecommunications, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications)
https://www.nict.go.jp/publicity/event/2024/01/25-1.html

February 1 (Thu) - 2 (Fri), 2024

Three speakers from NICT gave lectures at the Beyond 5G International Conference.
The Beyond 5G International Conference (co-hosted by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications andBeyond 5G Promotion Consortium) was held at Hotel New Otani Tokyo (Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo Prefecture).
The purpose of this conference was to "grasp international trends in the elements of R & D, etc. necessary forthe promotion of Beyond 5G, and to consider international collaboration (R & D and social implementation)
among industry, government, and academia for the promotion of Beyond 5G through sharing efforts for thepromotion of Beyond 5G from the perspectives of industry, government, and academia in Japan and overseas."
Lectures were given on the following three main themes.

(1) International Trends surrounding Beyond 5G(2) Japan's Efforts to Promote Beyond 5G(3) International Collaboration for the Promotion of Beyond 5G

Three people from the NICT gave lectures.
■ Special speech
Hideyuki Tokuda, President of NICT (Vice Chairman of Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium)■ Activity reportMorio Toyoshima, Director General of Wireless Networks Research Center, Network Research Institute, NICT
Iwao Hosako, Executive Director of Beyond 5G Research and Development Promotion Unit, NICT
*Beyond 5G International Conference

https://beyond5g-conference.jp/

Xross B5G 2024 Spring|11This text has been translated using "Min'na no Jidou Hon'yaku@TexTra(R)”.

Make a New Connection
Published: May, 2024
Beyond 5G Research and Development Promotion Unit
National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)
4-2-1, Nukui-Kitamachi, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8795, Japan
B5G-inquiry@ml.nict.go.jp
https://beyond5g.nict.go.jp/en/

Copyright © 2024 National Institute of Information and Communications Technology

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Xross B5G 2024 SpringPlease come and visit our exhibition!

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OPEN HOUSE

20240628 29

Beyond 5G Research and Development Promotion Unit, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)
4-2-1, Nukui-Kitamachi, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8795, Japan@Tokyo Big Site

Published: March, 2024
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