Research
Why Study Information and Communication?
Information and communication function as the central nervous system of modern society. Autonomous driving, remote medicine, weather forecasting, smart cities—all advanced technologies are built upon highly reliable information and communication networks. Today, when our lives, economy, and national security all depend on “being connected,” it is no exaggeration to say that information and communication represent society itself, beyond mere infrastructure.
Yet at the core of this society lie many unresolved challenges.
The volume of data continues to grow exponentially, placing unprecedented demands on communication infrastructure for speed, reliability, flexibility, and energy efficiency. Natural disasters, cyberattacks, and global environmental impacts—all present new dimensions of problems that cannot be addressed by existing technologies alone.
In response, the mission of research is not to “improve existing methods,” but to “rethink principles from the ground up and create new mechanisms.”
Studying information and communication means:
- Creating new social infrastructure that connects people and information fairly across the globe
- Designing intelligence that controls, predicts, and optimizes complex and dynamic networks
- Pioneering pathways for technology to transcend human limitations and expand the future of life, industry, and culture
Information and communication research is not merely about “developing convenient technologies.”
It is the endeavor of designing the very shape of the future that connects people and society.
Overall Research Policy
At the Information and Communication Laboratory, our mission is to “create fundamental technologies for next-generation ultra-high-capacity communication.” Our research focuses on three main pillars:
- Enhancing communication performance through signal processing
- Improving communication reliability through optical signal quality monitoring
- Reducing power consumption through optical switching technology
Each of these themes holds both technological and social significance, contributing to fields such as next-generation infrastructure, smart societies, and a sustainable global environment.
Enhancing Communication Performance through Signal Processing
Research Overview
In optical fiber and broadband wireless communications, factors such as noise, distortion, and channel interference during data transmission greatly affect communication quality. Highly advanced signal processing is essential to compensate for such degradation and accurately recover information.
Our laboratory tackles challenges such as:
- Developing next-generation signal recovery algorithms that combine nonlinear compensation based on physical models with pattern recognition via machine learning
- Designing real-time equalization for ultra-wideband signals
- Implementing and optimizing performance on high-speed devices such as FPGAs and GPUs
Social Significance
This research provides core technologies that support ultra-high-speed communication systems exceeding 1 Tbps, with expected ripple effects including:
- Improved real-time performance and accuracy for remote medicine, smart infrastructure, and industrial IoT
- Establishing a technological foundation to deliver fair, high-speed communication to all regions worldwide
- Dramatically improving information processing efficiency and sustainability in data-driven societies
Improving Communication Reliability through Optical Signal Quality Monitoring
Research Overview
In large-scale and complex networks, degradation and failures progress invisibly. To address this, real-time monitoring of communication states, early anomaly detection, and preventive measures are essential.
Our research includes:
- Developing quality evaluation methods using spectral information and waveform statistics from optical signals
- Designing machine learning algorithms to identify and predict abnormal patterns
- Implementing autonomous monitoring and recovery mechanisms through integration with network control systems
Social Significance
This research greatly enhances the reliability of social infrastructure, contributing to areas such as:
- Stable operation in domains where communication failures can be fatal, such as healthcare, finance, and transportation
- Supporting the transition to future self-diagnosing and self-healing fully autonomous networks
- Automating network maintenance and reducing operational costs on a global scale
Reducing Power Consumption through Optical Switching
Research Overview
With explosive growth in communication volume, the power consumption of communication equipment has become a critical issue. In particular, data centers and urban networks are increasingly constrained by limits on power, cooling, and physical space.
Our laboratory aims to realize ultra-low-power, high-speed communication using “optical switches,” which do not require conversion to electronic signals. We conduct research such as:
- Designing and verifying optical switch devices capable of handling petabit-per-second capacities
- Proposing flexible switching architectures utilizing multidimensional resources such as space, wavelength, and polarization
- Developing dynamic path optimization technologies through integration with software control
Social Significance
This research is directly tied to realizing future global-scale “Green ICT”:
- Reducing power consumption and drastically shrinking the carbon footprint of data centers and cloud infrastructure
- Securing communication platforms for ultra-high-capacity applications such as virtual reality, AI processing, and space communications
- Contributing to sustainable urban infrastructure through miniaturization, energy savings, and high-density design
Experiences and Outlook in the Laboratory
Our laboratory provides an environment where students can actively engage in all processes essential for communication system research—from theoretical exploration to design, simulation, implementation, experimentation, evaluation, and presentation.
Through activities such as:
- Experimentation and evaluation using cutting-edge measurement equipment and communication devices
- Collaborative research and technical exchange with universities, companies, and research institutions in Japan and abroad
- Presenting and discussing results at international conferences and in academic journals
- Freedom in choosing research topics and guidance that respects student independence
Information and communication technology is the “invisible social infrastructure” that supports people’s lives.
We aim to nurture engineers and researchers who will design, refine, and carry this technology forward into the next generation.
We look forward to working with those who aspire to:
- Support society through technology
- Design, with their own hands, the infrastructure that connects the future
