September 2021 Vol. 19 No. 992021

https://www.ntt-review.jp/archive/2021/202109.html

View from the Top
Hidehiro Tsukano, Senior Vice President, Head of NTT
IOWN Integrated Innovation Center

Front-line Researchers

View from the Top

Hidehiro Tsukano, Senior Vice President, Head of NTT IOWN
Integrated Innovation Center▼Overview
In addition to the three laboratory groups that have been the cornerstones of NTT’s
research and development (i.e., NTT Service Innovation Laboratory Group, NTT
Information Network Laboratory Group, and NTT Science and Core Technology
Laboratory Group), the NTT Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN)
Integrated Innovation Center (IIC) was established on July 1, 2021 to extend
technology development closer to the commercial implementation stage. IIC isstriving to create and implement photonics-electronics convergence technology,
which fuses optical and electrical signals and is key to enable IOWN. We
interviewed Hidehiro Tsukano, head of IIC, about the purpose of the establishment
and mission of IIC as well as the qualities required of top management.

Shinji Matsuo, Senior Distinguished Researcher, NTT
Device Technology Laboratories and NTT Basic
Research Laboratories
Masayuki Terada, Senior Manager, X-Tech Development
Department, NTT DOCOMO

Front-line Researchers

Rising Researchers

Shinji Matsuo, Senior Distinguished Researcher, NTT Device
Technology Laboratories and NTT Basic Research Laboratories

Kenta Niwa, Distinguished Researcher, NTT
Communication Science Laboratories

Feature Articles
Creativity and Technology—Designing for an Unknown Future
Reach Out and Touch Someone’s Heart: Exploring the Essence of Communication to Create a
Spiritually Rich Society
The Day a System Becomes a Conversation Partner—Exploring New Horizons in Social Dialogue
Systems with Large-scale Deep Learning
Looking More, Acting Better
Developing AI that Pays Attention to Who You Want to Listen to: Deep-learning-based Selective
Hearing with SpeakerBeam
Technique for Modulating the Tactile Sensation of Objects Using an Illusion

Regular Articles
Routing and Spectrum Assignment Using Deep Reinforcement Learning in Optical Networks

Global Standardization Activities
Next-generation Metallic Access Technologies and Their Standardization Activities▼Overview
The annual power consumption of datacenters in Japan accounted for 1% ofJapan’s total power consumption in 2015. As the speed and capacity of dataprocessing and transmission increases, power consumption is steadily increasing,and reducing that consumption is becoming a serious issue. To address this issue,
Dr. Shinji Matsuo, a senior distinguished researcher at NTT Device Technology
Laboratories and NTT Basic Research Laboratories, is researching and developing
innovative technologies for high-density integration of compound semiconductors on
silicon substrates to enable photonics-electronics converged integrated circuits. We
interviewed him about the progress of his research and his attitude as a researcher.

Feature Articles
Creativity and Technology—Designing for an Unknown Future

Reach Out and Touch Someone’s Heart: Exploring theEssence of Communication to Create a Spiritually Rich Society▼Abstract
NTT Communication Science Laboratories has been exploring the essence of communication since its
founding 30 years ago. With the aim of achieving communication that reaches the heart, its researchers
have been creating innovative technologies that approach and exceed human abilities in fields such as
media processing and data science. They have also been discovering basic principles that lead to a deeper
understanding of humans in fields such as cognitive neuroscience and brain science. This article introduces
key activities at NTT Communication Science Laboratories in pursuit of the essence of communication witha look back at past research.