Full Program (tentative)

Program at a Glance

25th, Nov. (Mon)

26th, Nov. (Tue)

27th, Nov. (Wed)

Keynote Speakers

Keynote Session 1
Date: 10:00–10:45, 25th, Nov., 2024
Chair: Akihiro Nakao (The University of Tokyo)

Masahisa Kawashima
IOWN Technology Director, IOWN Development Office, NTT Technology WG Chair, IOWN Global Forum

Title: Data Center De-centralization and Edge Cloud Convergence with IOWN APN

Abstract: This presentation introduces a global collaboration effort by IOWN Global Forum, which aims to develop next generation compute and network infrastructures, leveraging the evolution of optical communication technologies. It also explains how the infrastructures help societies achieve both carbon neutrality and growth with AI.

Biography: Masahisa Kawashima is currently leading NTT's R&D of Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) as the IOWN Technology Director. He is also serving as the Chair of the Technology Working Group at IOWN Global Forum. He has been working as a bridge between technologies and businesses since he joined NTT in 1994. His expertise includes high-speed networking, SDN, cloud/edge computing, AI, and data management. Nowadays, he is exploring innovative ways of making products/services cloud-native levering the evolution of optical communication and optoelectronics integration technologies.

Keynote 2
Date: 10:45–11:30, 25th, Nov., 2024
Chair: Akihiro Nakao (The University of Tokyo)

Satoshi Suyama
NTT DoCoMo

Title: Vision and Activities towards 6G

Abstract: For upcoming 2030 society, activities on research and development for 6G are ongoing in the world. In 6G, many use cases and requirements are under discussions, and new technical features will also be discussed. In this presentation, we show our company NTT DOCOMO's latest vision and activities towards 6G.

Biography: Satoshi Suyama received the B.S. degree, the M.S. degree, and the Dr. Eng. degree from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan, in 1999, 2001, and 2010, respectively. From 2001 to 2013, he was Assistant Professor in the Department of Communications and Integrated Systems at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He has been engaged in research on mobile communications systems and digital signal processing for wireless communications. Since April 2013, he has joined NTTDOCOMO, INC. and has been involved in research and development of 5G and 6G. He is currently Senior Manager of 6G-Tech Department in NTT DOCOMO and Deputy Leader of 6G Radio Technology Project in XGMF, Japan.

Keynote Session 3
Date: 10:00–10:45, 26th, Nov., 2024
Chair: Shoji Kasahara (Nara Institute of Science and Technology)

Winston K.G. Seah
Victoria University of Wellington

Title: Quantum Internet

Abstract: The Internet has become the backbone of our society, transforming from a mere carrier of information to becoming the source of information, applications, and services. Quantum computing, which has been receiving significant limelight recently, promises capabilities that can solve computationally complex problems previously unachievable by classical computers. While data transfer between quantum computers can be achieved using quantum communications, quantum networking is critical to maximize the capabilities of quantum computing, similar to how the Internet transformed society and the way we used computers. Unlike classical computers that encode information using distinct “0” and “1” values, called bits, the quantum equivalent, qubit (or quantum bit), can be a superposition of “0” and “1”, with a unique property that it cannot be copied or done without being detected, making it highly suitable for security applications, e.g. quantum key distribution, secure access to remote quantum computers, etc. Conversely, inability to copy qubits also makes it impossible to use existing communication techniques, like repetition or signal amplification, making it a monumental challenge to transmit over long distances, motivating the development of new technologies, like quantum repeaters. The quantum internet is governed by the laws of physics and possesses no analogy in the classical networks. This talk will discuss the ongoing research on quantum communications and networking, touching on how designing quantum internet protocols requires a major paradigm shift and imposes new challenges to network design.

Biography: Winston K.G. Seah specializes in algorithm and protocol design for networks in challenged conditions and extreme environments, such as, embedded systems with severe resource constraints, highly mobile networks, electromagnetic nanoscale networks and underwater networks. With the Internet of Things as the overarching application domain, his latest research includes algorithms and protocols for quantum internet, massive machine-type communications and ultra-reliable low-latency communications, as well as, novel approaches for network anomaly detection using artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques. Winston received the Dr.Eng. degree from Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, and ME and BSc degrees from the National University of Singapore in 1993 and 1987 respectively. In 2009, he joined Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, as Professor of Network Engineering. Prior to this, he has worked for more than 16 years in mission-oriented industrial research, taking ideas from theory to prototypes, most recently, as a Senior Scientist (Networking Protocols) in the Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R), Singapore. Winston strongly believes that research goes far beyond publishing papers and strives to solve challenging real-world problems using unconventional and innovative approaches.

Keynote Session 4
Date: 10:45–11:30, 26th, Nov., 2024
Chair: Shoji Kasahara (Nara Institute of Science and Technology)

Richard T. B. Ma
Department of Computer Science, National University of Singapore

Title: An IX-Anchored Internet

Abstract: Given the best-effort service abstraction designed by the Internet's network layer, today's TCP/IP-based Internet still cannot guarantee end-to-end quality-of-service (QoS). One of the missing pieces from prior efforts is the design of economic/business models that incentivize the participation of autonomous systems (ASes). In this talk, we propose a new approach that tries to leverage the Internet exchanges (IXs) to build inter-domain collaborations among ASes so as to fulfill QoS guarantees.

Biography: Richard T. B. Ma received the B.Sc. degree (Hons.) in computer science and the M.Phil. degree in computer science and engineering from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, in July 2002 and July 2004, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University in May 2010. During his Ph.D. study, he worked as a Research Intern at IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY, USA, and Telefonica Research, Barcelona, Spain. From 2010 to 2014, he worked as a Research Scientist at the Advanced Digital Science Center (ADSC), University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA. He is currently an Associate Professor with the School of Computing, National University of Singapore. His current research interests include distributed systems and network economics. He was a recipient of the Best Paper Award Runners-up from the ACM Mobihoc 2020 and a co-recipient of the Best Paper Award from the IEEE IC2E 2013, the IEEE ICNP 2014, and the IEEE Workshop on Smart Data Pricing 2015. He is a Senior Member of the ACM.

Keynote Session 5
Date: 10:00–10:45, 27th, Nov., 2024
Chair: Toru Takahashi (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)

Hiroaki Harai
Director General of Network Research Institute, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology

Title: Challenges in Developing Beyond 5G Network Systems

Abstract: The speaker presents R&D challenges in developing the Beyond 5G Network Systems for the innovative networks. The R&D target is fundamental and system technology for optical and wireless communications and for networking enabling to fulfill essential functions of the broadband, resilient, ultra-reliable, and ultra-low latency communications desired in the Beyond 5G era.

Biography: Hiroaki Harai is currently a Director General of Network Research Institute at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Tokyo, where he is managing R&D on computing and AI-enabled networking, next-generation wireless, photonic networks, optical and radio convergence, space communications, and resilient ICT as key technologies of innovative networks. Prior to present position. He received the M.E. degree and the Ph.D. degree in information and computer science from Osaka University, Japan, in 1995 and 1998, respectively. After he joined NICT, he has conducted R&D on network architecture, optical networks, and mobile networks. Since April 2018 to March 2021, he managed research and development testbed construction and stable operation of networks and clouds such as JGN and StarBED, and he designed Beyond 5G Mobile and NFV Testbed that is currently in operation. From April 2021, he is in present position. He was a recipient of the Outstanding Young Researcher at the 3rd IEEE ComSoc Asia–Pacific Young Researcher Award in 2007 (optical network topic), the Best Paper Award in ITU Kaleidoscope Academic Conference 2014 (mobile sensor network topic) and Excellent Paper Award in IEICE Communications Society in 2020 (networking topic).

Keynote Session 6
Date: 10:45–11:30, 27th, Nov., 2024
Chair: Toru Takahashi (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)

Yusheng Ji
National Institute of Informatics

Title: Distributed Learning for Wireless Resource Allocation

Abstract: In large scale distributed systems such as massive Machine-Type Communication networks, distributed control mechanism could be more efficient than a centralized one. In order to have a large amount of devices to act autonomously and cooperatively for achieving better system performance, we consider distributed learning techniques for wireless resource allocation and access control.

Biography: Yusheng Ji received the B.E., M.E., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tokyo. She joined the National Center for Science Information Systems (NACSIS), Tokyo, Japan in 1990. She is currently a Professor and Director of Information Systems Architecture Science Research Division, National Institute of Informatics (NII), Tokyo, Japan, and a Professor at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Japan. Her research interests include network resource management and mobile computing. She is a member of IEICE, IPSJ, ACM, and a Fellow of IEEE. She has published 600 international conference and journal papers, and received many best paper awards, including IEEE Communications Society Outstanding Paper Award, etc. She has served as a TPC Co-chair, General Co-chair, or Symposium Co-chair of major conferences, including IEEE INFOCOM, ICC, GLOBECOM, VTC, etc. She is an IEEE VTS Distinguished Lecturer.

Special Session with KICS

Sunwoo Kim
Hanyang University

Title: Integrated Sensing and Communication: From Algorithms to Hardware Prototyping

Abstract: Integrated Sensing and Communication is becoming increasingly important as we move towards 6G communication. Extensive research efforts are being made many across the world from the algorithm development to hardware prototyping. In this talk, the up-to-date overview of the ongoing research on the integrated sensing and communication will be given, which includes various sensing, radar algorithms, and beam management techniques, and hardware prototypes for the 6G ISAC.

Biography: Sunwoo Kim received his B.S degree from Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea in 1999, and his Ph.D. degree, in 2005, from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara. Since 2005, he has been working in the Department of Electronic Engineering at Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea, where he is currently a professor. He is now the director of Beyond-G Global Innovation Center and was the director of the 5G/Unmanned Vehicle Research Center, funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT of Korea. He is also a frequent visitor to the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served as an associate editor of IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology and is a senior member of the IEEE. His research interests include wireless communication, sensing, and localization.

Young-Chai Ko
Korea University

Title: Experimental measurement of Turbulence in Free Space Optics Channels

Abstract: In this talk, we propose a beam pointing algorithm to find optimal beam coordinates maximizing link performance in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) free space optical communications (FSOC) with spatial diversity. We first derive the received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) with spatial diversity and analyze the convexity condition of SNR function with respect to transmit beam coordinates. Then, we obtain the beam coordinates maximizing the received SNR through an alternating optimization (AO) algorithm and Newton’s method. However, the proposed algorithm requires instantaneous channel state information (CSI), which requires a high signaling overhead in MIMO FSOC. Thus, instead of exploiting instantaneous CSI, we utilize statistical CSI and propose a robust beam pointing algorithm with respect to atmospheric turbulence and pointing error. Numerical results show that our proposed algorithm outperforms conventional schemes in a dynamic FSOC network. Furthermore, we confirm that the optimal coordinates which are robust to the channel conditions approach to the centroid of receiver lenses as the strength of turbulence and pointing error increases.

Biography: Young-Chai Ko [S’97, M’01, SM’06] (koyc@korea.ac.kr) received his B.Sc. degree in electrical and telecommunication engineering from Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea, and his M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN in 1999 and 2001, respectively. He was with Novatel Wireless as a research scientist from January 2001 to March 2001. In March 2001, he joined Texas Instruments, Inc., wireless center, San Diego, CA, as a senior engineer. He has been with the school of electrical engineering at Korea university as a professor since 2004. His research interests include the design and evaluation of wireless communication systems. In particular, his main research focuses on the designs of free space optical communications with application to inter-satellite link and wireless interconnect between computing nodes and 6G cellular systems.

Seung-Hoon Hwang
Dongguk University

Title: Spectrum status and issues in Korea

Abstract: In this talk, the Spectrum Committee of the 6G Forum is introduced, followed by a description of the current spectrum status in the Republic of Korea. Finally, the Republic of Korea’s spectrum plan is summarized.

Biography: Seung-Hoon Hwang (Senior Member, IEEE) received a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea in 1999. From 1999 to 2004, he worked for UMTS standardization at LG Electronics, Republic of Korea. From 2003 to 2004, he served as a Visiting Research Fellow with Prof. Lajos Hanzo at the University of Southampton, U.K. He is a recipient of the British Chevening Scholarship funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, U.K. He is currently a Professor in the Division of Electronics and Electrical Engineering and the Dean of Engineering School at Dongguk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. In 2010, he was a Visiting Professor with Prof. John Cioffi at Stanford University, CA, U.S.A. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, a Vice President for the Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences, Korea, and the Chairperson of the Spectrum Committee in the 6G Forum, Korea. He has received awards from the Minister of Education and Minister of Science and ICT.