Japanese Optical Technology Breaks Through the Internet’s Physical Limits

 

 
The data produced and consumed by humanity continues to grow at a dizzying rate year by year. While global data volume was approximately 2 zettabytes in 2010 (1 zettabyte = 1 trillion gigabytes), it is predicted to reach 181 zettabytes in 2025. Processing such enormous quantities of data naturally requires vast amounts of power for data centers (facilities housing servers and network equipment) as well as for communications infrastructure, including telecommunications and data networks.
 
Data center power consumption in particular is expected to double to around 945 TWh (terawatt hours) by 2030. The major factor driving this demand is the rapid proliferation of AI. Processing queries for generative AI requires tremendous energy for text and image generation, with some estimates suggesting it consumes ten times more power than conventional internet searches. With many countries, including Japan, aiming for net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050, the energy consumed by data processing could become a significant obstacle.
 
To address this global challenge, NTT Inc., a Japanese telecommunications company, has come up with an answer: the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN), a next-generation communications and computing infrastructure concept based on the use of “light.”
 
Optical fiber has, of course, been utilized in conventional networks. However, the use of electrical signals by equipment between networks reduces speed and increases power consumption. IOWN aims to dramatically improve performance by converting processing within these devices from electrical to optical signals. “We aim to achieve 100 times greater power efficiency, 125 times greater transmission capacity, and 1/200th the latency of conventional systems,” says ARAGANE Yosuke, Vice President of the IOWN Development Office.
 
If this is achieved, it could dramatically reduce power consumption, thereby cutting down on excessive power plant operation and ultimately leading to reduced CO2 emissions. This dream is already becoming reality. “We’re aiming for practical implementation by 2030, but we’ve already achieved our goal of reducing latency to 1/200th, and we expect to reach 1/50th to 1/80th power consumption in the near future,” says Aragane.
 
The ideal place to have this near-future next-generation communications experience is Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. The main facilities at the Yumeshima site, including pavilions and event venues, as well as some other external facilities, are connected via the IOWN network. This provides a communications environment through which various types of content and events both inside and outside the Expo can utilize the network’s virtually zero latency to instantly share data and offer visitors a unifying experience.
 
One example of this is a world-first initiative that connected the Expo venue with the former Expo ’70 site 20 kilometers away, transmitting, in real time and space, a performance by the popular Japanese group Perfume to the NTT Pavilion in Yumeshima. A custom system comprising over 20 sensors and cameras was set up around a special stage at the Expo ’70 site to convert Perfume’s movements into high-precision 3D data. This was instantly transmitted to Yumeshima, where the data was reconstructed as volumetric visuals on a 3D LED display. Footstep vibrations generated during the trio’s performance were also measured along with positional data. At the Yumeshima site, 128 vibration actuators embedded beneath the floor recreated those vibrations across the floor surface, bringing the remote performance to sensory life. Thanks to the high-speed, large-capacity, low-latency capabilities of IOWN, vast amounts of data generated by the production were transmitted seamlessly—realizing a futuristic form of communication that made it feel as though Perfume was performing right beside the Yumeshima audience.
 

 
Additionally, avatar robots at convenience stores within the Expo venue are operated remotely to provide customer service without delay. Trials have also been conducted connecting the “Shining Hat” Expo Hall with Taiwan some 3,000 kilometers away, transmitting live performances in real time.
 

Today, proof-of-concept experiments with IOWN are expanding around the world. In 2020, NTT founded the IOWN Global Forum, an international organization aimed at advancing IOWN’s practical implementation together with member businesses worldwide. More than 160 companies from Japan and abroad have joined, including telecommunications companies, device manufacturers, and semiconductor makers. Currently, they are conducting experiments to demonstrate the feasibility of the new technology. These could lead to concrete business applications in such diverse fields as finance, healthcare, construction, and broadcasting.
 
“The aim of IOWN is to realize a new social infrastructure. This cannot be done by the NTT Group or domestic Japanese companies alone. We want to achieve global adoption of IOWN as the next-generation communications and computing infrastructure by leveraging the knowhow of our multi-industry members around the world,” says Aragane.
 
Achieving low power consumption, high capacity, and low latency communications while aiming for a carbon-neutral future—this Japan-born vision is now spreading, network-like, across the globe.