Remote World: Creating a Collaborative Space That Transcends All Constraints

Institutes around the world are pursuing research in various technological fields including artificial intelligence, VR/AR, robotics, security, information processing infrastructure, networks, energy, quantum computing, biotechnology, advanced materials, and additive manufacturing. However, we seem to have reached the point where solutions to society’s most pressing challenges cannot be found in any one technological area alone. The development of new energy technologies could lead to innovations in information processing infrastructure, while the emergence of new materials has impacts on robotics and security. We need to adopt a broad perspective on the direction of technology because each advance has impacts across a range of applications. NTT seeks to promote integrated technologies, rather than distinct technology trends, that will be instrumental in creating a post-pandemic society.

The foundational technology for this new society is IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network) – a new communications platform that will pave the way to our future. As part of the IOWN vision, we are developing ultra-high capacity, ultra-low latency infrastructure, with ultra-low power consumption using breakthrough photonics-based technologies.

Unlocking new value

Across the globe, governments and companies are pursuing various paths to Society 5.0 – a human-centric society that will emerge from the deep integration of cyberspace and physical space.

In particular, the development of systems where data is intertwined across domains such as smart cities and MaaS (Mobility as a Service – which integrates various forms of transport and related services into a single, on-demand service) necessitates a data-centric society that not only collects and accumulates data, but also creates new value from a wide variety of data and links it to new businesses.

“We don’t just want to put new technology into use – we want to offer new value in people’s lives.”

The data-centric computing infrastructure service, one of the platforms made possible by IOWN, is intended precisely to solve these issues. This new platform will shift the present playing field that advantages huge platforms able to aggregate and monetize data, by lowering the hurdles to data valuation and making it possible for various businesses to create new services with data holders in previously unimaginable fields and industries.

How will the spread of new technologies such as IOWN change people’s lives? We don’t just want to put new technology into use – we want to offer new value in people’s lives. Here, we take a close look at one of these new kinds of value: a collaborative space that transcends all constraints – a Remote World.

A space transcending constraints

In the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic, many industries have clearly shifted towards remote activities. In addition to remote work and online education, there is also an urgent need to develop telemedicine, while the entertainment and sports industries demand systems that can go beyond just watching or listening online to provide value similar to the real world, without the need to gather together.

Through IOWN, we aim to maintain and enhance social and economic activities even amid the kind of limitations imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, and offer the value of the Remote World. This goes beyond simply implementing various remote activities, but also making possible activities that transcend barriers of people’s abilities, cultures, and values. The field of entertainment and sports calls not only for bringing realism to online live events, but also creating environments where people can come together across time and space, and even experience sports and entertainment by becoming other people. That will lead to a society that transcends the boundaries of space, people, and culture.

Four points of value in the Remote World

01: Integration and unification of environmental conditions between remote sites

By creating virtual collaborative spaces, we will enable two-way communication of human activities, including physical activities, between remote locations. Simultaneous sensing of people’s physical and environmental conditions and ultra-low-latency feedback make it easy for people to engage in social activity across physical distance. This should enable large-scale events to be held without people gathering together in one physical space.

02: Conveying people’s thoughts and intentions and synthesizing abilities

Avatar robots and services to support remote work that transcend human capabilities will become reality. In addition to sensing the thoughts and intentions of people and feeding them back to other people and avatars, we will be able to generate models of human abilities that can serve as “alter egos,” creating an environment where people can make use of their skills remotely to tackle new work.

“Not only will simultaneous translation allow us to interact with people from different cultures, we will also realize multi-modal communication that goes beyond audiovisual senses to allow us to understand the emotions of people with different values.”

03: Transcending barriers of culture and values

Sensing that extends beyond physical information to encompass human emotions and values will make it possible to create digital twins of human beings. Not only will simultaneous translation allow us to interact with people from different cultures, we will also realize multi-modal communication that goes beyond audiovisual senses to allow us to understand the emotions of people with different values.

04: Integration with activities in proximity

Even though remote work has become common in many industries, we will never eliminate the need for human contact and physical movement. The Remote World respects activities that derive value from movement and proximity, and will create an environment that makes it possible to have optimal experiences that combine activities conducted in proximity and remotely.

Taking steps towards the future

We are already hard at work putting our ideas into practice to build a better future. These efforts span a wide range of areas, from improvements to core social infrastructure to technologies extending into space and new computers that transcend conventional limits.

This is adapted from the NTT report, Technology for a Smart World, published 2021.

Read and download the full report here.