2014 APR

NEWS

4

No. 439

01 Upcoming Full Scale Operation Spaceborne

Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR)−The contribution to next generation precipitation observation mission (GPM)−

Hiroshi HANADO/Katsuhiro NAKAGAWA

03 Lidar Measurementsof the Atmosphere−Laser remote sensing of the atmosphericconstituents and wind−

Kohei MIZUTANI

05 The Future of DUV LEDs

−Development of light-extraction
technology by nanophotonic structures
for practical application of DUV-LEDs−

Shin-ichiro INOUE

07 Report on NICT Entrepreneurs'
Challenge 2 Days 2013
"Kigyouka Koshien (1st day)/
Kigyouka Expo (2nd day)"09 Report on Opening Ceremonyand Symposiumfor the Resilient ICT Research Center

10 Report on "Completion Ceremony for Solar

Wind Observation Satellite Data
Receiving System"and "9th SPACE WEATHER USERS' FORUM"

of
11 Announcement
WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY PARK 2014
(WTP2014)

Cover image: Solar wind observation satellite data receiving antenna

Upcoming Full Scale Operation
Spaceborne Dual-frequency
Precipitation Radar (DPR)−The contribution to next generation precipitation
observation mission (GPM)−
Hiroshi HANADO

Katsuhiro NAKAGAWA

After completing his master's degree, he joined theCommunications Research Laboratory, Ministry of
Posts and Telecommunications (currently NICT) in
1989. He was temporarily transferred to JAXA forDPR development from 2004 to 2007. He has been
engaged in microwave remote sensing research.

After completing his doctoral degree, he joined theCommunications Research Laboratory, Ministry of Posts
and Telecommunications (currently NICT) in 1988. For DPRdevelopment, he was at the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration from 2006 to 2008. He has been engaged in
microwave remote sensing research. Ph.D. (Engineering).

Research Manager,
Radiowave Remote Sensing Laboratory,
Applied Electromagnetic Research Institute

Introduction
As the Earth is often referred to as the "blue planet", whenobserved from outer space, over 70 percent of Earth's surface is covered with water. However, water resources that support our lives do
not come not from the ocean but from freshwater falling on the land
from the atmosphere such as rain or snow. In addition, it is said thatabout 60% of natural disasters are caused by heavy rains or floods,
which are brought by excessive rainfalls or snowfalls (what they callprecipitation). Precipitation has two aspects—one being the precious
resources that support our lives, and the other being a "dangerous
disaster factor". By using satellites, Global Precipitation Measurement(GPM) intends to observe the precipitation distribution on a global
scale that has a large impact on our lives.

Precipitation radarand microwave radiometer
The GPM core satellite has precipitation radar that enables
three-dimensional observation of the precipitation, and the microwave radiometer that observes the water vapor, cloud, precipitation,and sea surface temperature, etc., by measuring the feeble microwave band radio emitted from the earth surface and atmosphere.
With the core satellite and subsatellite that has a microwave radiometer (Figure 1), the GPM creates a precipitation map at intervals of
three hours using combinations of all the constellation observations
which frequently measure global rain condition in high precision,and other meteorological data. Precipitation radar plays a role toachieve high precision by measuring the precipitation distribution indetail resolved in the height direction. On the other hand, while
microwave radiometer provides the only two-dimensional measure-

Senior Researcher,Radiowave Remote Sensing Laboratory,
Applied Electromagnetic Research Institutement, it can observe more extensively and plays a role to frequently
create a precipitation map.
The GPM core satellite is a satellite jointly developed by Japanand the United States and launched with the H-IIA Launch Vehicle
No. 23 on February 28, 2014. The satellite is equipped with
Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR), which is jointly developed by NICT and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and GPM
Microwave Imager (GMI) developed by the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA). The main role of the core satellite is to improve the observation accuracy by calibrating theobserved precipitation data of microwave radiometers mounted on
constellation of satellites, which is achieved by observing the
precipitation condition simultaneously with two sensors, microwave
radiometer and radar (Figure 2). For the orbit of the GPM core satellite, the angle of inclination is 65 degrees, and it observes from thetropics to middle and high latitudes. In addition, due to the non-sunsynchronous orbit, it can observe diurnal cycle of precipitation. The
satellite circles the earth 15 to 16 times a day, in about 90 minutes
per orbit, and observes the precipitation condition.
407 km Altitude
7 km/sec

Dual-Frequency
Precipitation Radar(DPR) cross track scanning

GPM Microwave Imager(GMI)
conical scanning

Range Resolution
250 m/500 m

Swath
Coverage

KuPR
245 km

KaPR
125 kmSpatial Resolution

GMI
800 km5 km※cross track scanning: radar scanning perpendicular to the satellite's
traveling direction
conical scanning: conically radar scanning

Figure 2 Concept of precipitation observation with GPM core satellite

Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR)

Figure 1 Conceptual diagram of Global Precipitation Measurement(GPM) (Courtesy of JAXA)Core satellite and subsatellites

1

NICT NEWS APR. 2014

Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (GPM/DPR) is a precipitation radar installed on the GPM core satellite, and a successor of theworld's first TRMM Precipitation Radar, which is installed on
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) launched in 1997.
The TRMM/PR is still operational in orbit today. It realized the observation of precipitation distribution in the tropics with homogeneousoffshore, and went to northeast direction in the south
coast of Japan. In the evening of March 10, its central
the extratropical
cyclone center
pressure became 976 hPa(equivalent to barometricpressure of a typhoon). The
pressure distribution in Japan
Radar Reﬂectivity by KaPR
was high barometric pressure
to the west and low pressure
to the east, a typical atmospheric pressure pattern inwinter, and resulted in a cold
winter day even though it was
March, and triggered heavy
point A
point
B
Distance from point A
snow in Hokkaido.
Light
Heavy
Low
High
Figure 3 shows the intenPrecipitation Rate
Radar Reﬂectivity Factor
sity of the rain, the left figure
Figure 3 Observed images of GPM/DPR (Colored and edited version of the image by courtesy of JAXA/NASA) shows horizontal cross-sectionof rain intensity at the groundsurface. The right side figures
Table 1 The speciﬁcation of GPM/DPR (Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar)show
theverticalcross-sectionofzonal
heavy rain area, which
and TRMM/PR (Precipitation Radar)stretches from the northwest to the southeast near the extratropical
GPM/DPR
cyclone center, indicated from the point A to the point B on the
TRMM/PR
KaPR
KuPR
left side figure. The top right figure is the observation result of
MethodActive phased array (128 elements)
KuPR. It shows the tendency that the height of strong echo (red)Frequency
35.55 GHz
13.6 GHz
13.8 GHz
located in 250–700 km from the point A becomes lower toward
Peak transmit power
146.5 W
1012.0 W
616 W
the A point in the north. The observation result of KaPR in the
215 kmObservation swath
125 km245 kmbottom right shows the same tendency but the echo becomes weak(from yellow to green) at lower latitude near the ground surface.
4.3 km
5 km
Spatial resolution
This difference is because the rain echo of Ka-band was more
Range resolution
250 m
500 m
250 m
attenuated than that of Ku-band, shown as the height of rain
fromthegroundObservation altitude
from the ground surface to 19 km
surface to 15 km
becomes lower toward the north. In addition, this rain echo pattern
Minimum measured
indicates that it was snowing within the 200 km from the point A.
0.7 mm/h
0.2 mm/h
0.5 mm/h
Surface Precipitation Rate

Altitude

Altitude

Radar Reﬂectivity by KuPR

precipitation intensity
Size (meter)

1.4×1.2×0.8

2.5×2.4×0.6

2.2×2.2×0.6

Weight324.0 kg

429.9 kg

464.87 kg

Power consumption

314.8 W

423.1 W

217.1 W

precision regardless of land and sea, and also observed the threedimensional precipitation distribution inside an early typhoon on thesea, which cannot be observed by ground based radars. TRMM/PR
has brought such new knowledge that contributes to the understanding of the global climate mechanism. One of the major roles of DPR
is to expand the ability of TRMM/PR—from the tropics to middle
and high latitude. To achieve this, the GPM/DPR consists of two
radars using different frequencies; Ku-band radar and Ka-bandradar. By using dual-frequency and the difference of the scatteringand attenuation in frequencies by precipitation, the radar enables the
improvement of the accuracy of precipitation intensity estimation,and identifies the types of precipitation (liquid type such as rain or
solid type such as snow). Then the radar observes the precipitationof middle and high latitude capturing various details. Table1 shows
the specification of GPM/DPR and TRMM/PR. KuPR is improved
version of TRMM/PR, which enables the higher sensitivity with theincrease of transmit power. KaPR has 2 observation modes. One is
the high sensitivity mode using Ka-band, which uses short wavelength, and the other is the high accuracy mode that enables the highaccuracy of precipitation intensity estimation by attenuation correction with dual frequency algorithm, which simultaneously starts themeasurement of the same observation volume with KuPR.

Future prospects
The initial check-out period is scheduled from March to Aprilof 2014. After that, DPR will start the regular operation fromMay 2014. By carrying out the external calibration experiment of
DPR, NICT will monitor the performance of the radar and secular change and conduct the ground validation of the data
observed by DPR and of the algorithm of precipitation rate estimate. The direct validation of the observation data will be conducted with simultaneous observation by the C-band weather
radar (nicknamed COBRA), which is installed in NICT Okinawa
Electromagnetic Technology Center, and by Phased Array radar
Network Data system (PANDA) for X band, a system completed
in March 2014. Also, the validation of the algorithm will be
carried out with balloon observation with the aim to observe theprecipitation particle inside of the melting layer where snow orice melts into raindrops in detail (Figure 4).

Simultaneous Observation in NICT
Okinawa Electromagnetic Technology Center
Ku-band radar: KuPR
Ka-band radar: KaPR

PANDA

X-band phasedarray weather radar

Observed Images by GPM/DPR
Figure 3 is the example of observed images taken in the initialcheck-out period. At around 22:39 on March 10, 2014, the GPM
core satellite observed a mature extra-tropical cyclone on the sea
about 2,000 km east of Japan. It appeared above Okinawa

Observation of precipitation
particle on melting layer

Figure 4

COBRA

Direct observation of
precipitation particle
in melting layer with avideosonde hanging
from the balloon

C-band polarimetricweather radar

On March 2014preliminary experiment(in Zao, Yamagata)

Ground validation of Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar(GPM/DPR)
NICT NEWS APR. 20142

Lidar Measurementsof the Atmosphere−Laser remote sensing of the atmosphericconstituents and wind−

Kohei MIZUTANI

Chief Senior Researcher,Remote Sensing Fundamentals Laboratory, Applied Electromagnetic Research Institute
After working as a Special Researcher, Communications Research Laboratory, the Ministry of Posts
and Telecommunications (CRL, currently NICT) in 1991, he joined CRL in 1993.
He has been engaged in laser remote sensing. Ph.D. (Science).

Introduction
Atmospheric phenomena have become a popular topic:
greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, air pollutants such as
PM2.5, tornadoes, and heavy rains. LIDAR (LIght Detection
And Ranging) is one of the devices that measures these atmospheric phenomena and atmospheric components. Lidar sends
pulse laser light to the atmosphere and receives backscatteringfrom atmospheric molecules, airborne particles (aerosol), andclouds (Figure 1). The distance to the scattering matter is calculated from the time difference between the transmission anddetection of the pulse laser light. Lidar is also referred to as thelaser radar, which means a kind of radar using laser light. Lidar
can measure aerosols such as Asian dust, air pollution particles(such as PM2.5), pollen, sea salt particles, smoke; and it canalso measure the clouds, wind, and carbon dioxide, etc.

Mie lidar
You can estimate the types of scattering particles and thealtitude distribution of aerosol and cloud by the intensity distribution of received light, polarization, and wavelength dependence. Such lidar devices are called Mie lidar (lidar that mea-ozone layer
stratospheric aerosol
cirrus cloud
cloud, aerosol
laser transmitter

Figure 1

3

received lightreceivertelescopeand slit

Conceptual diagram of lidar device

NICT NEWS APR. 2014

sures the scattering of particles larger than or comparable to
the wavelength of the laser light where Mie theory is applied),and are installed around the world including polar regions foratmospheric observations. NICT started monitoring observation of air pollutants such as PM2.5 by installing a Mie lidar in
Fukuoka in Kyushu ―a region susceptible to the air from Asia―
for atmospheric environment measurement in the spring of 2014.
This lider has a spectrometer on the receiver so it can measure
the f luorescence from the organic matter. Obtained data is
expected to be used for research about the nature and source of
air pollutants, and the improvement of the accuracy of diffusion prediction.

Coherent Doppler lidar
When the laser light is backscattered by the aerosol or cloud
moving with the air, the frequency change occurs due toDoppler shift. NICT has been conducting R&D of coherent
Doppler lidar that measures the wind velocity by measuring thefrequency change. Figure 2 shows the overview of wind observation by coherent Doppler lidar developed by NICT andinstalled on NICT headquarters building roof. The coherent
Doppler lidar is set in a container. The laser light is sent fromthe scanner installed on the top of container and is backscattered by aerosol, and the lidar receives it through the samescanner. The laser we developed emits light at eye-safe wavelength of 2 μm and you can transmit it in any directions by thescanner. Since the laser light never spreads unlike radio waves,
it is not necessary to worry about the extra reflection from theearth's surface even in case of near-surface measurement.
Figure 3 shows the example of the observed wind distribution
by the device. It shows the horizontal wind distribution by theazimuthal scan in an elevation angle of 2 degree. The lidar
device is at almost the center of the map and it observes windcomponents of each direction centered on the device. The
directions with no data are the area where the device can not
make measurement because of obstacles. In addition to theaverage flow of the south-southwest, there are also fine structures of wind shown with light and shade of around 1 km. With
such observation, we would like to capture the status of gustwind and the precursor of heavy rains.

transmitted beam
diameter 8 cm

range resolution〜76 m
scattered light Doppler shifted by the aerosol
pulse laser light(eye-safe 2 μm wavelength)

tran
smit
te
light dsc a ttere
light dscanner

Elevation (EL)scan for azimuth (Az)direction

installed on rooftop(ground height about 20 m)
of NICT Headquarters( Koganei-shi, Tokyo )Figure 2

Wind observation by coherent Doppler lidar developed by NICTIn March 2014, we installed phased arrayweather radar-Doppler lidar sensor fusion
system in bases of NICT in Okinawa (Figure 4)
and Kobe. Doppler lidar works in conjunction
with phased array weather radar and other meteorological devices, etc. and is a part of thespace meteorological data acquisition experiment system. We believe that demonstration
resea rch by such exper iment system will
become the foundation of the future meteorological observation system.
In addition, we are promoting the development of on-board coherent Doppler lidar for
aircraft. We expect that the observation of thewind distribution around the Japanese Islands
with the lidar mounted on the aircraft willcontribute to the improvement in such as route
prediction of typhoon and weather forecast.

Future prospects

16 km

Arakawa Riv.
Lake Sayama

Tachikawa

Imperial Palace

pre
vail
in ing
dirw
ect d
ion

0

16 km
16 km
Figure 30Tama Riv.
16 km

Wind distribution observed by azimuthal scan of coherent Doppler lidar
in an elevation of 2 degree

Cold colors (negative wind speed) show the coming wind to the device, and warm colors

Since there are absorption lines of water(positive wind speed) show going wind from the device.
vapor and carbon dioxide in the wavelength
range used for NICT's coherent Doppler lidar,
it can be used to measure water vapor and carbon dioxide. Currently, the lidar device that NICT developed can observe
carbon dioxide concentration up to 5 km away with approximate 1% (4 ppm) accuracy. However, the observation accuracy
phased arraythat is currently required is about 0.3%, so we need more accuweather radarracy with less observation time.
In addition, we would like to contribute to the improvementof the world weather forecast by mounting coherent Doppler
lidar on a satellite and having observation of the wind distribution all over the world.
Through R&D of observation devices that is more stable andmore efficient, we will make it possible to observe wind andcarbon dioxide from the earth's surface and the space further
and more efficiently. This will contribute to the weather hazard
prediction and global environmental protection.

Figure 4

Doppler lidar

Doppler lidar installed as phased array weather
radar-Doppler lidar sensor fusion system in Okinawa

NICT NEWS APR. 2014

4

The Future of DUV LEDs

−Development of light-extraction technology
by nanophotonic structures
for practical application of DUV-LEDs−
Shin-ichiro INOUE

Senior Researcher, Nano ICT Laboratory,
Advanced ICT Institute
After completing doctoral course and working as Special Postdoctoral Researcher of the Institute ofPhysical and Chemical Research, RIKEN, Assistant Professor of Institute for Materials Chemistry andEngineering, Kyushu University, he joined NICT in 2010. He has been engaged in research of
nano-optoelectronics. He is also Associate Professor, Graduate School of Engineering Faculty andEngineering, Kobe University and Researcher of PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency.
Ph.D. (Engineering).

Background
The importance of deep-ultraviolet (DUV) light with 200–350 nm
wavelength has been increasing in various fields from information,
electronic devices to safety and sanitary environment, medical
application, such as high-density optical data storage, disinfection ofbacteria and viruses, purification of water and air, biosensing,biological and materials analysis, photolithography, prevention of
nosocomial infection, and photodynamic therapy. It's becoming animportant infrastructure that supports our society. For deepultraviolet light sources, gas light sources such as mercury lamps
and excimer lasers has been conventionally used. However, the gas
light source is short-lived, large in size and requires large power
consumption. For such reasons, replacing it with semiconductor
solid state light source, which is small in size and power consumption, has been much needed. In addition, as typified by the adoptionof Minamata Convention on Mercury in last year, global efforts
have been accelerated to reduce or eradicate harmful substances tothe human body or environments such as mercury and fluorine.
Therefore, the application of deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes(DUV-LEDs) with low environmental impacts, high efficiency andlong life is strongly desired (Figure 1).

Figure 1

5

The impact and the applications of DUV-LEDs

NICT NEWS APR. 2014

Under these circumstances, the R&D of DUV-LEDs has beenvery active all over the world. Although the recent performance has
been greatly improved, the further improvement in efficiency is necessary for the practical use. The R&D of DUV-LEDs by NICT was
adopted as A-STEP (Adaptable and Seamless Technology Transfer
Program through Target-driven R&D), the stage for promotion ofindustry-academia collaborative R&D (feasibility study stage),
Seeds Validation. NICT has been engaged in the full-fledged R&D
with the aim to apply DUV-LEDs in cooperation with a company,
which has been conducting joint research with NICT since December 2013. In this article, we will introduce our efforts towards theefficiency improvement of DUV-LEDs and its application such as
the development of significant enhancement technologies in lightextraction efficiency by making use of nanophotonic structures.

The progress and challenges of DUV-LEDs
DUV-LEDs consist of AlGaN-based semiconductors of the directtransition type. Varying the mole fraction of AlN and GaN enables
AlGaN-based DUV-LEDs to emit the light with almost full DUV
range (210–365 nm). In semiconductor LEDs, if there are highdensity defects in the crystal, the electron-hole pairs generated byinjection current can easily bechanged into the heat throughdefects without light emission. In
AlGaN-based DUV-LEDs, since
10 8 cm -2 or more of high-density
defects (dislocations) occur on theactive layer (Figure 2 (a)) due to thelarge lattice mismatch in commonly used sapphire (Al2O3) substrates, there has been issues of the
low internal quantum efficiency
and the short lifetime. However,
the recent progress of R&D of
buffer layer technology and AlN
substrates in several groups hasbrought the significant improvement on these issues. NICT has
been conducting R&D of DUVLED using AlN single crystal
substrates in cooperation with
Tokuyama Corporation. Since it ispossible to reduce the defects(reduction of dislocations) such asless than 106 cm-2 with DUV-LEDs

Figure 2

The device structure of AIGaN-based DUV-LEDs(a) Schematic diagram showing problems of conventional DUV-LEDs (high-density dislocation defects, very low light-extraction eﬃciency)(b) Schematic diagram of light-extraction structure with nanophotonic structure and its picture by Scanning Electron Microscopeon AlN substrates, AlN substrates has
high advantages in the lifetime and thereliability.
The current biggest factor that inhibits the efficiency improvement in
DUV-LEDs is the problem of the very
low light-extraction efficiency. This is aparticular problem of DUV-LEDs. It isdifficult to extract the light due to theafter processinternal absorption in the p-type GaN
before processcontact layer and the total reflection at
the substrate interface. Therefore, mostof the light emitted in the active layerchange into thermal energy (Figure 2(a)). Figure 3 The emission characteristics and the performance improvement results of DUV-LEDs
Especially, with AlN single crystal(a) The improvement of the output power of DUV-LEDs with nanophotonic structure
substrates, since the refractive-index is(b) Emission spectra for each driving current
large (n = 2.29 @265 nm) compared tosapphire's, the critical angle get small (25.9 degrees). Thus, you canwere as high as 1.7 or more (Figure 3). Also, the standard deviaextract the only small amount of light. The results of theoreticaltions of enhancement between devices were less than 0.03, andcalculation by 3D finite-difference time-domain (3D-FDTD)
we highly achieved the reduction of the dispersion of output
method, with absorption in p-type GaN layer considered, showed
power between devices, which is essential for practical use. Inthat the efficiency of light extraction from the flat surface (light
fact, we fabricated a prototype of 265 nm DUV-LEDs in
extraction surface) of AlN substrates was just only about 4%. In
collaboration with Tokuyama Corporation and achieved theother words, this problem is the main cause of very low external
output power of more than 30 mW. And furthermore, for the reliquantum efficiency in DUV-LEDs. With that being said, theability measurements, the lifetime for the 50% power reduction
improvement of DUV-LEDs depends on how to improve the lightat 150 mA was estimated to be over 6,000 hours in 265 nm
extraction efficiency.
DUV-LEDs.

Performance improvementof DUV-LEDs by nanophotonic structure
The biggest issue preventing performance improvement and practical application of DUV-LEDs is their limited light-extraction efficiency. Currently, we have achieved the highest light-extraction
enhancement of DUV-LEDs on AlN substrates in the world. We
achieved the high light-extraction efficiency with the reduction of
total internal reflection on AlN substrates by proposing and developing new light-extraction structure. The remarkable enhancementof light-extraction is caused by the multiplier light enhancement
effects of periodic convex structures at the wavelength scale andsmaller fine round convex structures (Figure 2(b)). Not only
improvement of the light-extraction efficiency but light output
uniformity between devices, manufacture cost, and yield rate arealso considered in this unique structure. We achieved the fabricationof light-extraction nanophotonic structures with high precision andhigh uniformity for DUV-LEDs on AlN substrates. When comparedto the devices without the nanophotonic structures, the relativeemission intensities of DUV-LEDs recorded with the structures

Future prospects
These results are expected to bring significant progress toward
the improvement of efficiency and reliability, and the practical use
of DUV-LEDs. In the future, using nanophotonic structure, we willfurther improve the light-extraction efficiency and develop the mass
production and low cost technology such as nano-imprint technology. By these technologies, we will develop DUV-LEDs that has ahigh competitive advantage in both performance and cost.
The industrial uses of DUV-LEDs in various fields are expected,
and there is a chance that the LED grows into a huge market.
Ultimately, by the realization of mercury-free, ultra-compact,
highly efficient, and long lifetime DUV solid light sources opening the possibility of new DUV applications, we would like tocontribute to build lively, safe and secure and environmentallyfriendly society.

NICT NEWS APR. 20146

Report on NICT Entrepreneurs'
Challenge 2 Days 2013
"Kigyouka Koshien (1st day)/
Kigyouka Expo (2nd day)"

Entrepreneur Support Oﬃce,
ICT Industry Promotion Department

1st day Kigyouka Koshien

March 5, 2014

Twelve teams selected from all over Japan gave presentation on products and services related to ICT. In addition to Highest Award and Jury'sSpecial Award, twelve companies sponsored the event and provided various elaborative special awards including "Luncheon with CEO". About
one hundred and fifty students and faculty members joined the event, and actively exchanged information, questions and answers.
Highest Award

Cellars ̶unforgettable wines in your hand̶

Team: Cellars Representative: Mr.Takafumi YANO, Kyoto University

After uploading a picture of the label on wine bottle taken with a smartphone, the application instantly shows the detailed informationof the wine including its brand name, etc. Cellars holds Japan's largest wine database of 180,000 bottles. With the originally developed
recognition engine, the database is further enhanced by the data uploaded by users. Monetize: based on (1) commission from aﬃliated
EC retailers generated when user buys the bottle of wine on the application (2) advertising revenue on the application (3) organizing
events related to wine (4) discovery and import of wines whose value will increase in the future.

Jury's Special Award

Smart-Unipath

Team: CrowdDesigN Representative: Mr. JUNG Sae Hyung, Kyoto Institute of Technology

Smart-Unipath is an online lecture distribution service that provides courses for international students preparing for examinations
necessary to study in Japan such as Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students. Once the course isregistered, the lecture videos will be available on PCs and smartphones and can be played as many times as they wish. The quizzes
and mock examinations allow learners to track their progress. Users receive consolations and helps from the service with various paper
works necessary for entering school in Japan.

Snapshot of the awarding ceremonyof Highest Award

Snapshot of the awarding ceremonyof Jury's Special Award

Kigyouka Koushien FY2013, Contestants team name/plan nameCommemorative photo with the presenters※numbers based on presentation order① Tokyo Kawaii Guide/Tokyo Kawaii Guide Representative: Masatoshi ASADA, Digital Hollywood University② sO-Zo/sO-Zo Representative: WANG Ran, Waseda University③ PassionJelly/Happy World Map Representative: Kisaki NISHIHARA, Okinawa National College of Technology④ CAR-D2/Web Service for Foreigners Importing Used Car Representative: Ryotaro KUBOTA, Doshisha University⑤ Team 7lab /"emi-system" The aid-for-childcare communication system which connects parent and child by ICT
Representative: Tatsuya ISHINO, Kochi National College of Technology⑥ Dreampharos/Frientor Service (Providing the dream-supporting platform for children with new type self-management mobile application)
Representative: DONG Wooseok, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology⑦ Cellars/Cellars ̶unforgettable wines in your hand̶ Representative: Takafumi YANO, Kyoto University⑧ "IITOMO" wo miru kai/Busp Representative: Hiroki TOI, Oyama National College of Technology⑨ Goroo/-melo- Representative: Hiroya HANAFUSA, Yokohama National University⑩ Sequence Robot/Innovation of line Representative: Yuki TAKAHASHI, Chuo University⑪ CrowdDesigN/Smart-Unipath Representative: JUNG Sae Hyung, Kyoto Institute of Technology⑫ MARK/MARK Representative: Takaaki ITAGAKI, Keio University

7

NICT NEWS APR. 2014

In NICT, for the purpose of business promotion in the area of information communications technology, we carry out humanresource development for the next generation, as well as students in technical colleges, universities, and graduate schools across thecountry with aspiration to utilize ICT, and support the business expansion of local startups.
As part of this effort, we held Entrepreneurs' Challenge, a two-day event on March 5 and 6, 2014 at KOKUYO HALL (Minato-ku,
Tokyo). The event consists of "Kigyouka Koshien" where students and young entrepreneurs selected from across the country compete
their business plans, and "Kigyouka Expo" where NICT promotes business matching by facilitating promising startup companies
from various regions to find new funders and partners in business expansion after introducing their business plans.
Details: http://www.venture.nict.go.jp/ (Japanese version only)

2nd day Kigyouka Expo（※）

March 6, 2014

Twelve organizations selected from all over Japan gave passionate presentation seeking business cooperation, fundraising, and humanresources related to new businesses of products and services using ICT. Local support organizations of respective regions also introduced how
the support startup business in the presentation.
After the presentations, SHIKUMI DESIGN Inc. won the Audience Award by the vote of audience. Subsequently, a talk session was held by
the mentors from ICT Mentor Platform (Mr. Hisashi KATSUYA and Mr.Jun NAKAJIMA), the representative from local support organization(Mr. Koichi KOSHIDA, Ishikawa Sunrise Industries Creation Organization), and the Audience Award recipient SHIKUMI DESIGN Inc. (Mr.
Shunsuke NAKAMURA). They discussed frankly about NICT's effort in hosting two-day event from their perspectives: as a mentor, local
support organization, and startup company. The event welcomed a total of 200 participants, including members from major corporations, ICT
related companies in Tokyo, investment companies and local incubation supporting organization. They all enjoyed lively exchange of ideas andinformation.

Talk session

Snapshot of the presentation

Commemorative photo with the presenters

Audience Award"Playing Instrument by Moving Your Body
with New Generation Instrument 'KAGURA'"SHIKUMI DESIGN Inc. (Representative Director, Mr. Shunsuke NAKAMURA)
New generation instrument "KAGURA" uses the camera installed in PC, and makes asound according to the movement of the user. Its intuitive user interface can potentiallycreate a new genre―a hybrid of instrumental performance and dance―. We would like awide range of users to enjoy "KAGURA"; from musicians, performers to children.
（※）"Kigyouka Expo" is a new name for what was formerly referred to as "ICT Business Plan Contest", a series of events that was held for ﬁfteen times in
the past. The new name "Kigyouka Expo" was dubbed with a wish to put forth all kinds of people involved in entrepreneurship just like World Expo tosupport ICT startups: groups, individuals, and communities fostered across the nation.

Kigyouka Expo FY2013, Presentators (companies)※numbers based on presentation order① Toru DOMON (President), Clear Inc. (Hokkaido district: Sapporo) 【support organization】Sapporo Biz Café
② Shinya OKAMOTO (Director), IT COWORK INC. (Tohoku district: Aomori) 【support organization】Aomori Pref. (Miyagi Pref., Miyagi Mobile Society)③ Hiroyuki MIURA (Representative Director), PLUSVoice (Tohoku district: Miyagi) 【support organization】Miyagi Pref., Miyagi Mobile Society④ Masayuki HISADA (President of CEO), Aizu Laboratory, Inc. (Tohoku district: Fukushima) 【support organization】Aizuwakamatsu City
⑤ Kosuke MORI, (Sole proprietor, Representative) (Kanto district: Kanagawa) 【support organization】Shonan Industrial Promotion Foundation⑥ Kazuya NITTA (Owner), ablecomputer Inc. (Hokuriku district: Ishikawa) 【support organization】Ishikawa Sunrise Industries Creation Organization (ISICO)⑦ Jean-Marc PELLETIER (Fellow), dango Inc. (Tokai district: Gifu) 【support organization】Softopia Japan⑧ Keisuke ARAKAWA (Representative Director), Entrepreneur Inc. (Tokai district: Aichi) 【support organization】Artiﬁcial Intelligence Research Promotion
Foundation (Aichi Venture House. co., ltd.)⑨ Shinji FUKUMOTO (CEO), Future Electronic Technology, Inc. (Kinki district: Osaka) 【support organization】Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry⑩ Hideoki TADA (Director), VECTOR Co., Ltd. (Chugoku district: Okayama) 【support organization】Business Incubator Okayama (BIO)⑪ Hisashi MUROZAKI (President of Executive Oﬃcer), MEDIAS (Chugoku district: Hiroshima) 【support organization】Hiroshima Internet Business Society (HiBiS)⑫ Shunsuke NAKAMURA (Representative Director), SHIKUMI DESIGN Inc. (Kyushu district: Fukuoka) 【support organization】Fukuoka Ruby and Software Industry
Promotion Committee

NICT NEWS APR. 20148

Report on Opening Ceremony and Symposiumfor the Resilient ICT Research Center
Resilient ICT Research Center

NICT established a world-leading research center named "Resilient ICT Research Center" in Katahira Campus of Tohoku University.
The center is the result of NICT's effort in collaborating with industry, academia and government to create research facilities that promote R&D for strengthening the resilience of information communications network against disasters after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, when information communications were extensively damaged. We held the opening ceremony of Resilient
ICT Research Center on March 3, 2014, followed by the opening symposium at Sakura Hall in Katahira Campus of Tohoku University.
The ceremony started with welcoming remarks by Masao SAKAUCHI, President of NICT, and guests' addresses by Prof. Susumu
SATOMI, President of Tohoku University, Mr. Toshiyuki TAKEI, Director-General for Policy Coordination, Minister's Secretariat,
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Acting Governor of Miyagi Prefecture, Acting Mayor of Sendai City, and Vice
President of Tohoku Economic Federation. They expressed their expectations for the center to promote R&D for resilient technologies
to meet the growing needs of the society through its research facility, and to promptly expand its achievements with an aim to be aworld-leading research center. The ceremony ended with the closing speech by Yoshiaki NEMOTO, Director General of Resilient ICT
Research Center, who expressed the Resilient ICT Research
Symposium Program
Center's policies and its mission. There were a total of 60
participants in the ceremony, including the people from
Keynote Lecture
Tohoku University, government agencies, local governments,"Current Status and Issues of Tohoku University Reconstruction Action"
the private sectors, and NICT.
Prof. Nobuyoshi HARA, Executive Vice President(for Earthquake Disaster Reconstruction), Tohoku University
At the opening symposium for Resilient ICT ResearchCenter (hosted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and NICT)
Keynote Lecture
held in the afternoon of the same day, after two keynote"Innovation Challenge ̶for Safe and Secure Social Infrastructure̶"
lectures, the lecture themed on "the direction of the research
Mr. Hiromichi SHINOHARA, Executive Vice President,
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
center and the promotion of industry-academia-government
collaboration" from industry, academia, and government was
Lecturegiven. Results presentations on resilient ICT (ten subjects)"Direction of Activities of the Research Center and Promotion
which were directly commissioned by the Ministry of Interof Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration"
nal Affairs ended in FY2012 were also performed and activiHiroshi KUMAGAI, Associate Director General,
Resilient ICT Research Centerties for further practical application of the research results
Prof. Masataka NAKAZAWA, the Executive Director
were introduced. Through the symposium, we shared theof Research Organization of Electrical Communication,same recognition—the circumstances of resilient ICT
Tohoku University
research, base formation, and the importance of collaboration
Mr. Motoo NISHIHARA, General Manager
system between industry, academia and government. Exhibiat Cloud System Research Laboratories, NEC Corporation
tion of the research results was also performed on the first"R&D for Strengthening Disaster Resilience in Information
and Communication Networks"
floor of the same Sakura Hall. There were 187 participants inReport on R&D results (10 subjects)
total for both the symposium and the exhibition.

9

Opening Address by Masao SAKAUCHI,
President of NICT

Resilient ICT Research Center, located in the KatahiraCampus of Tohoku University

Opening Symposium of the Resilient ICT ResearchCenterExhibition

NICT NEWS APR. 2014

Report on "Completion Ceremony for Solar
Wind Observation Satellite Data Receiving System"and "9th SPACE WEATHER USERS' FORUM"
Space Weather and Environment Informatics Laboratory,
Applied Electromagnetic Research Institute

NICT held "Completion Ceremony for Solar Wind Observation Satellite Data Receiving System" and "9th SPACEWEATHER USERS' FORUM" at NICT headquarters(Koganei, Tokyo) on March 20, 2014. In the ceremony, after
Dr. Masao SAKAUCHI, President of NICT gave a greetingspeech as a host, Mr. Toshiyuki TAKEI, Director-Generalfor Policy Coordination, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry ofInternal Affairs and Communications spoke as an invited
guest. Then, Dr. Toshio IGUCHI, Director General, Applied
Electromagnetic Research Institute explained space weather
and the recently built solar wind observation satellite
data receiving system, the congratulatory address by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in U.S.
was introduced, and the ribbon cutting ceremony was conNewly-developed antenna receiving
Greeting speech fromducted. More than 80 people attended the ceremony includsatellite data for solar wind
Mr. Toshiyuki TAKEI, Director-Generalobservation
for Policy Coordination,
ing researchers from universities and research institutes, andMinister's Secretariat, Ministry ofInternal Aﬀairs and Communications
people related to aviation, satellite operation, and ham radio.
After the ceremony, we held a tour of the antenna of the newly built system andthe meeting room for the space weather forecast.
Subsequently to the ceremony, SPACE WEATHER USERS' FORUM washeld where Dr. Fumihiko TOMITA, Vice President, gave the opening remarks,
and a greeting speech from Mr. Tatsuhiro HISATSUNE, Director of Space Communications Policy Division, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
followed. After that, four lectures were given. After the forum ended, we conducted individual consultations about space weather, mini-lessons of how to readspace weather data, and held a tour of NICT's exhibition room. In total, more than
one hundred people participated.
The lecture presentation materials of the day are available on the following URL.
cutting ceremony with Mr. Toshiyuki TAKEI,
http://seg-www.nict.go.jp/SpaceWeather/home/forum.html (Japanese version only) Ribbon
Director-General for Policy Coordination,
USERS' FORUM Lectures
Lecture 1"The Recent Trend of Space Weather"Dr. Mamoru ISHII, Director of Space Weather and Environment Informatics Laboratory

Lecture 2"The Use of Space Weather in an Airplane"
Mr. Retsu AKUTSU, Chairman of HUPER Committee,
Air Line Pilots' Association of Japan, Captain of B787, All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.

Lecture 3"Evaluation of Atmospheric Drugs that Have Eﬀects on Spacecraft:
Aiming for More Precise Spacecraft Operation"
Prof. Hitoshi FUJIWARA, Faculty of Science and Technology, Seikei University

Lecture 4"Management of Radiation Exposure for Astronauts and Space Weather Prediction"
Mr. Masaru SATO, Associate Senior Engineer, Astronaut Medical Operations Group,
Flight Crew Operations and Technology Department, Human Space Systems andUtilization Mission Directorate, JAXA

Minister's Secretariat,Ministry of Internal Aﬀairs andCommunications (right), Dr. Masao SAKAUCHI,
President of NICT (center), Dr. Fumihiko TOMITA,
Vice President of NICT (left)

Mini Lectures of How to Read Space Weather Data
【The Sun】

The forum lecture【The Magnetosphere】【The Ionosphere】

Group photo of attendees

Individual consultation about space weather

NICT NEWS APR. 201410

Announcement of
WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY PARK 2014 (WTP2014)
Date:

May 28‒30, 2014

Venue: West Hall 3 & 4, Tokyo Big Sight(held simultaneously with WIRELESS JAPAN 2014, and TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM EXPO 2014)

Organized by: NICT, YRP R&D Promotion Committee and YRP Academia Collaboration Network
Overview
Wireless Technology Park (WTP) is an exclusive event focused on the research and development of wireless technology, and has been
held every year in cooperation with industry, academia, and government. WTP consists of three areas: the "Exhibition" where you can ﬁnd
the latest wireless technologies and researches, the "Seminar" that introduces the recent technical trends in wireless communications, andthe "Academia Session" where university laboratories present their R&D results. In WTP2014, NICT will lecture and showcase the latest
results from the R&D with a focus on wireless technology that supports a smart society.
This year, WTP is planning exciting projects such as exhibitions and seminars under the special theme of "Wireless Technology that
Supports Smart Society", an exhibition of results from academia-industry collaborative researches, and an exhibition on the history of
wireless technology. We look forward to your visit.
Exhibitions and Seminars by NICT
＜Exhibitions＞
・Research and demonstration platform of "Wi-SUN" to support social ICT
・Radio device and proﬁle extension technology of the international standard "Wi-SUN"・Mobile communication system utilizing TV White Spaces
・Wireless relay using small Unmanned Aircraft Systems(Resilient wireless mesh network)
・Infrastructure-independent peer aware communication (PAC)
system・Sheet medium communication and application technology
・Indoor navigation system co-operated with UWB positioning
and smart devices
・Phased array weather radar that captures three-dimensional
structures of torrential rain, etc.
＜Seminars＞
・Overview of the initiatives by NICT towards wireless communication technology
・R&D of wireless communication technology to support social
infrastructure
・Initiatives towards dependable wireless communication technology
・Recent R&D activities on space/satellite communication
・Phased array weather radar that captures three-dimensional
structures of torrential rain
・UWB indoor positioning system and the applications

Last year's exhibition

DetailFor more information, please visit WTP website (http://www.wt-park.com/eng/index.phtml).
※You can enter the exhibition free of charge by making a reservation at the WTP2014 website.
Contact Information＜Inquiry about the event＞
WTP2014 show management oﬃce (in EJK Japan, Ltd).
TEL: +81-3-6459-0444 FAX: +81-3-6459-0445

NEWS＜Inquiry about NICT's exhibitions and seminars＞
Planning Oﬃce of Wireless Network Research Institute, NICT
(staﬀ: TAKAHASHI/SAWADA)
TEL: +81-46-847-5050 FAX: +81-46-847-5059

No.439, APR 2014

Published by

Public Relations Department,
National Institute of Information and Communications Technology<NICT NEWS URL> http://www.nict.go.jp/en/data/nict-news/

ISSN 2187-4034 (Print)
ISSN 2187-4050 (Online)
4-2-1 Nukui-Kitamachi, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8795, Japan
Tel: +81-42-327-5392 Fax: +81-42-327-7587<NICT URL> http://www.nict.go.jp/en/〈Recycled Paper〉