R&D Spirits
Toward the Dissemination of Environmental
Information Designed to Improve the Quality of Life
Jean-Jacques Delaunay
Research Engineer
Environmental Assessment Systems Group
Environmental Information Systems Project
NTT Energy and Environment Systems Laboratories

NTT Energy and Environment Systems Laboratories is making good progress on an environmental information system that collects and stores environmental data on air, water, and soil
using sensing networks. The system then publishes information derived from this environmental data. What significance could this environmental information hold for you and me? Andwhat does the development of such a system require on the provisioning side? We put thesequestions to Research Engineer Jean-Jacques Delaunay, who is in charge of developing a cedarpollen forecasting system that will be used to offer a pollen forecasting service on a commercial basis starting in January 2004.

48-hour cedar pollen forecasts computed
using a three-dimensional transport model—Please describe your current research.
We are working on the development of a real-timecedar pollen forecasting system. The system comprises a pollen sensing network and an associatedserver to collect and store pollen data, a simulator thatmodels the major processes involved in pollen transport such as flowering, emission, advection, and dispersion, and graphical tools that are used to publish
the forecasts on a variety of different media such as
the web, digital television, email, newspapers, andfax (Figs. 1 and 2). When we started this project,
there was no system that could provide round-theclock pollen information with a useful spatial andtemporal resolution. Our group was the first to createsuch a system and circulate the information to thegeneral public. This new type of information should
help to improve the quality of life of pollen allergysufferers by providing them with pollen forecasts,
thus allowing them to take preventive measures.
Today, more than one in ten inhabitants of theKanto region are reported to be suffering from pollen
6allergy, a proportion that will probably continue toincrease in the near future. The main cause of pollen
allergy in Japan is now recognized to be the potent
allergen in cedar pollen. The medical community isclear in its advice that the most effective way to prevent the occurrence of pollen allergy is to avoid inhaling pollen. By knowing the current and projected
pollen concentrations, a person is in a position to takepreventative/precautionary measures such as wearing
a mask or taking appropriate medication. Throughinterviews, we found tremendous enthusiasm amongallergy sufferers for a service that would enable themobtain pollen information easily and conveniently bycell phone, the Internet, and other means. The medical community is also interested in pollen observation data in relation to epidemiology studies, which
will contribute to improvements in prescription
drugs.
—What are the technological aspects of thisresearch?
To enable us to compute the time varying threedimensional pollen concentration fields over an area
as large as the Kanto plain, we had to develop andNTT Technical Review

R&D Spirits

Metropolitan area
Pollen sensor

Forecasting center(meteorologicalforecasts services)

Mobile phone

Information transmission server
Meteorological sensor

Publish pollen forecasts
PC

National sensor network

Database server

NTT L-modeservice

Database
Transfer ofsimulation results

Simulator
Digitalbroadcasting

Pollen dispersion simulation
Information processing
Meteorological forecasts services

Fig. 1. Pollen forecasting system.

Operating principle
Japanese cedarpollen grains(35 µm in diameter)

Measureφ 20 cm
PhotodiodeMeasurement passage
Scattered light
outputPollen0.5 V

Laser lightsource5V

TTL output

50 cm
Inlet
Rough particles

Fan50 µs

2 ms

Yamagata city
NTT sensor
Particle counter

Pollen sensor

Information hub

No. of particles(particles/cubic meter of air)NTT Atsugi Research Laboratories
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
4/16

4/17

2001

4/18

4/19

4/20

4/21

4/22

Time(days)

Fig. 2. NTT pollen sensor.

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R&D Spirits

Meteo.

Emi.

Disp.

Conc.

Models

DataWind

Cedar land coverMeteo 48H

Flowering date,Emission rate

Wind field griddedtemp., etc.

Elevation

Display

SensorPollen dispersion

Sensor data

Correction

Pollen concentration

Pollen concentration map 48H

Fig. 3. Pollen simulation.

implement several models in our pollen forecasting
system. These models compute the flowering dates,
the pollen emission rates, and the pollen transport inthree dimensions (Fig. 3). In particular, the development of a realistic emission model required us toadopt a completely new approach. The hourly pollen
concentrations are computed at fixed points in spacelocated on a three-dimensional grid with a grid size of
2 km on the horizontal plane, and a variable grid
spacing with 20 layers. Pollen sensor data collectedfrom our sensing network is used in real time to correct the pollen forecasts (post-processing) and thus
improve the accuracy of short-range forecasts provided by our system. We also developed optimization
code so that the parameters for the models could be
adjusted over a longer period. It is difficult to operate
the system in real time. Achieving real-time operation requires great care as regards the design and coding of the system, which controls many data flows(meteorological data, pollen data, and forecastresults) and processes (flowering, emission, transport, post-processing, and optimization).
One of the unique aspects of this work is that it
involves numerous disciplines including atmosphericscience, computer science, data processing, and biology. Many of these disciplines were outside my own
area of expertise, so I had to learn a lot, which turned
out to be a very enjoyable process.
8—Tell us how the research and development is progressing.
We field-tested the system last year in the Kanto
region. The system generated pollen concentration
maps that were published in real time on ourweb/WAP sites. Maps for ten cities were derived on alarger scale from a regional model covering the Kanto
area. For dissemination and analysis purposes, weapplied a four-level classification index to the computed pollen concentration: low, moderate, high, andvery high. The forecast accuracy, given as the percentage of correct classification for all predicted
events, reached an average value of 50%. The mainpollen peaks were well reproduced.
As a trial service, we offered the information to thegeneral public through our interactive web site andalso on the i-mode service of NTT DoCoMo. The
response from users was remarkable with both sites
averaging 1000 hits per day (Fig. 4). The service wasalso featured on a popular TV weather forecast spot
on TBS and was covered by other media as well.
Finally, our pollen forecasts were displayed continuously on a TBS digital television channel.
Our ultimate target was to make a commercially
viable service, and, based on how well the trial service was received, it is clear that we achieved ourgoal. Recently, we have been transferring technoloNTT Technical Review

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Display of pollen forecast using animations and maps
11:00

13:00

Information on the Web

15:00

2002.03.XX
17:00

Information on i-mode

Fig. 4. New information contents.

gies and making various arrangements to provide asmooth start to the service. NTT-GP, a subsidiary ofNTT, plans to launch the service commercially inalliance with a weather information company in January 2004.

Real pleasure in pursuing research throughdirect interaction with society—What do you think this research will bring forththree and five years from now?
Our main role has been to develop the technology up
to the point where it is ready for commercialization,and it is now someone else’s job to turn this service
into a successful business. I think that the service
could develop in two directions: it could provide individual users with information related directly to themand provide professional users with high-quality information. On the personal user level, the pollen forecast
service might develop in the form of an i-mode site,while on the professional user level (targeting hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and local governments), services providing observed data together
with data analysis expertise will probably be essential.
—What issues need to be addressed for that to happen?

of standardization of the pollen information. Different measurement standards have been around for along time now, and some effort at standardization isneeded. Also, pollen reports do not necessarily use
the same vocabulary and units to describe the same
situation, thus contributing to confusion among thegeneral public.
In terms of forecast quality, the models require anumber of improvements. In particular, better modeling of the variations in the amount of pollen produced
from year to year would certainly improve system
performance. If we are to model these variations, wefirst need a better understanding of the ecology ofcedar trees.
—Have you participated in any academic conferences related to this research?
I have written a number of papers and given presentations at conferences, but recent developments inmy project have left me very little time to participate
in conferences. Also the primary mission of our laboratory is more oriented toward applications and thepractical implementation of services, so communicating our results to the academic community is only oneof our many responsibilities. For me, it is the directconnection between my research and potential usersthat makes my life as a researcher rewarding.

One of the issues that must be addressed is the lackVol. 2 No. 1 Jan. 2004

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R&D Spirits—Tell us about international research trends regarding the dissemination of environmental information?
Until fairly recently Japan was criticized for being
slow in addressing these needs, but this country has
made up for lost time over these past five years withthe passage of legislation in 1999 that regulates thereporting and management of the release of chemical
substances into the environment (based on OECD
recommendations), the creation of national and prefectural web sites that carry environmental information, and many other initiatives. With regard to technologies related to sensing networks and data collection, progress has been extraordinarily rapid and noone could claim that Japan lags behind in these areas
today. It is the subsequent analysis and action oncethe data has been collected that still leaves something
to be desired. In this regard, Japan is in a similar situation to the U.S.: research is very advanced, but thesubsequent action is not what it might be. In contrast,
I think Europe has achieved a better balance between
research and action. And this applies not just to a segment of the research community but also to the general population, which has a keen appreciation ofenvironmental issues. This is evident from the formation of many non-profit organizations (NPOs) at the
local level and proactive citizen-led initiatives
designed to investigate environmental problems andcome up with solutions.

Resolving conflicts between society and theenvironment—a persistent research theme—What kind of research did you do as a Ph.D. student?
I majored in physics and got my Ph.D. in France,
based on experimental work undertaken at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg,
Germany. My research at that time focused on themodeling of natural light and its use in the interior
lighting of buildings. The research dealt with themodeling of direct and diffuse solar light under different meteorological conditions (types of sky) andtargeted better designs for building apertures with aview to avoiding glare and over-heating in summer.
My work also made it possible to compute the energybalance of a building taking account of both the heating and cooling loads of the building and the contribution made by natural and artificial lighting.
Although Freiburg is a small city, it is home to oneof the most traditional Universities in Germany,10

together with several prestigious research institutes.
Today, it is well known for its environmental initiatives. More than ten years ago, the city took steps topreserve its environment by restricting vehicle accessto the city center, thus becoming a model for neighboring cities such as Strasburg in France. Living inthis town was very significant for me, and I still goback there about once every two years to look at theevolution of different projects and obtain new ideas.
—What first motivated the research you are doing
now?
First of all, I wanted to do research in the field ofatmospheric science. At the same time I was concerned by the impact of air pollution on health. Air
pollution has long been a neglected field, which canprobably be explained by the difficulties involved instudying air pollution and quantifying the impact ofany regulation on air quality. As the atmosphere is aborderless medium, the air we breathe knows no geographical or political boundaries, which makes it
extremely difficult to regulate/manage. This is generally not the case for other natural resources. For
example fresh water (which people are used to payingfor) is certainly a better-managed resource than theair. Unfortunately, atmospheric pollution is also aserious health problem contributing to respiratory
disease and associated with high mortality rates during times of high pollution. So there is a need for people to be better informed and to understand the challenges to improving the air quality. As this is a difficult topic that is still widely debated in the scientificcommunity, I thought that the cedar pollen problem inJapan could offer an opportunity to contribute to thedebate and help to stimulate a community that isinterested in air quality problems. While pollen allergy cannot be considered a man-made problem inquite the same way that car exhaust can, the incidenceof pollen allergy has certainly been exacerbated byJapan’s aggressive postwar afforestation policy andin today’s Japan it can be considered a form ofanthropogenic atmospheric pollution.

Commanding presence of NTT Energy andEnvironment Systems Laboratories—How would you like to see this research develop in
the coming years?
One area of interest relates to the dispersion ofpollen from genetically modified crops and its interNTT Technical Review

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action with other species. As pollen can travel oververy large distances, there will inevitably be someinteraction between transgenic plants and nativespecies, a problem that has yet to receive the attention
it deserves. A pollen dispersion simulation could help
quantify the risk of cross-pollination and help us toregulate this phenomenon.
Another natural continuation of my work would beto simulate the dispersion of other bio-particles suchas viruses and bacteria. This area has far-ranging
applications that can probably be used to improve thewealth and prosperity of society.
—Please tell us your research aspirations.
Since the ultimate goal of our research and development effort is the commercialization of new services, I would certainly try to expand my project inthe directions I mentioned previously. I am also highly motivated by the idea of providing extensive andgood-quality environmental information to people insupport of an improved decision-making process.
Despite the recent efforts by many government bodies to inform people, information on our environmentis at best sparse and often incomplete. Strangely
enough, the data necessary to provide this information might be available, but in many cases steps todisseminate it in a relevant form have not been taken,
thus leaving the public uniformed and unable to takepart in the debate. Knowing our environment may not
only change the way we think about where we live,
but could also influence our lifestyle and the methods
we use for producing goods and providing services.
This is why environmental information is so crucial
to society.
—How do you think NTT Laboratories appear to theworld through their research activities to date?
NTT Laboratories have an indisputable international reputation in many key technologies that support
today’s telecommunication infrastructure. In particular, our basic laboratory is doing fascinating researchat the forefront of science. There is no other telecommunication carrier anywhere in the world with suchgreat potential as regards research and development.
The Energy and Environment Systems Laboratories has not been around long enough to establish
such a reputation, but its mission lies elsewhere. The
true substance of our laboratory is to be found at adomestic level where it has commenced several large
environmental information projects hand in handVol. 2 No. 1 Jan. 2004

with its natural partners (NTT-East and NTT-West).
We have forged new environmental communities byworking closely with local groups as well as localauthorities.
In recent years, I was saddened by the closure ofmany research laboratories in Japan and throughout
the world. The global trend toward outsourcing activities and cost-reduction has taken a heavy toll on theresearch community. Although in many situations
outsourcing may be the best economic strategy, whenit comes to R&D and long-term strategy, outsourcing
is likely to be detrimental. NTT, which has a strong
culture of mastering the technology it uses, has a different approach, which should give the company adecisive advantage in the technological battles tocome.
—What is it like working at NTT Laboratories?
This is a very appealing and rewarding place towork. What amazes me most is the incredible breadthof knowledge that is available here: you can find anexpert on virtually any area of interest, and any information that you might need is available somewhere
within NTT. No matter what question you might
have, there is bound to be someone around who canhelp. The expertise and knowledge encompassed bythese research teams and developed over many years
are invaluable.

Interviewee profile■ Career highlights
1991 M.E. from the “École Nationale Supérieure dePhysique de Strasbourg”.
1995 Ph.D. from the Louis Pasteur University.
1995 Post-doctoral position at the National Industrial Research Institute of Nagoya.
1996-1997 Post-doctoral position at NTT.
1998- Currently with NTT Energy and Environment
Systems Laboratories and engaged in thedevelopment of information systems.
■ Major awards
1995 STA scholarship from the Japan Science andTechnology Corporation.
2001 NTT Science and Core Technology Laboratory
Group award for best press release.
2003 NTT Energy and Environment Systems Laboratories Director Award.

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