Tsukuba Gigabit Laboratory & Japan Gigabit Network

1. Tsukuba Gigabit Laboratory&Japan Gigabit Network TAO Telecommunications Advancement Organization of Japan August, 2002 Tatsuzo Koga

2. In the early nineties, the US Government actively promoted the establishment of the National Information Infrastructure (NII) to enhance the competitiveness of the US industries in global markets. The US spent 4.6 billion dollars in the period 1992-1996 to implement the High Performance Computing and Communications Initiatives(HPCC) to promote the development of the next generation technologies and applications in telecommunications. In 1997, the Next Generation Internet (NGI) program was unveiled with a budget of 85 million dollars in fiscal year 1998. The high-speed NGI network was to connect more than 100 sites nationwide, thus to establish a widely accessible test-bed. As a result of these initiatives, a noticeable competitiveness of the US industries had been achieved.

3. The Japanese Government took initiatives to catch up the US and other frontrunner countries. Recognizing the importance of developing advanced research facilities with very high-speed network systems in promoting research and development of high-speed networking and high-performance application technologies, the Japanese Government allocated a 57.3 billion yen (477.5 million dollars: US$1 = \120) budget in the fiscal year 1998 to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. Financed by the Ministry with this budget, the TAO, Telecommunications Advancement Organization of Japan, designed and developed the JGN, Japan Gigabit Network, as a nationwide research and development facility.

4. The Japan Gigabit Network is comprised of five laboratories and a high-speed backbone network of optical fiber with a maximum transmission rate of 2.4 Gbps. The backbone is connected via ten ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) switches to fifty-four connecting nodes located in major cities throughout Japan. It provides universities, industries, and local and national government agencies with test-beds open to both public and private bodies for collaborative research and development of advanced networking technologies and applications. A public announcement is made every four months to invite applications for the use of the laboratory facilities, while applications for the use of the backbone network can be filed throughout the year.

5. JGN: Japan Gigabit Network ・Gigabit Network (max. 2.4Gbps) ATM Switches：　１０　 Connecting Nodes：　５４　 ・Gigabit Laboratories（collaborative open test-beds） ５：　Tsukuba, Keihanna, Kitakyushu, 　　　　　　　Okayama, Kyoto ・Research Centers ２：　 Makuhari, Kochi

6. JGN

7. 5 Gigabit Laboratories Open Test-beds for Collaborative Research • Tsukuba, Keihanna, Kitakyushu • 　　for research and development of advanced networking technologies and applications for the G-bps class of transmission using high performance equipment of cutting-edge technology • Kyoto, Okayama • for test and evaluation of optical telecommunications using the high speed networks including those of the G-bps class of transmission installed in small areas of local communities and end equipment

8. Tsukuba Gigabit Laboratory (Front View) http://www.tsukuba.tao.go.jp/

9. Tsukuba Gigabit Laboratory opened：　April, 1999 DirectorTatsuzo Koga 　　Administrator　 Takayuki Nakamura 　　Technical Supervisor　 Shigetada Ishii 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Keiji Uemura 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Junzo Okunaka 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Takuro Matsumoto 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Yasuhiro Yokomaku Kentaro Watanabe Registered Research Staff：　approx.５０

10. FACILITIES ① Community Room ② Digital Content Production ③ Long Distance Optical Transmission Test ④ Home-Networking Development/Test Tsukuba Gigabit Laboratory ⑤ High Speed Image Transmission Test ⑥ Distributed Computer Resources Network ⑦ ATM Network Systems Test ⑧ High Quality Image Processing/Test

11. Community Room This room is suited for short-term use by small groups of local communities, schools, venture businesses, or local industries for seminar classes or training courses. It is also used as a visitors assembly hall where an introductory briefing is given about the facility prior to the guided tour. Twenty laptop personal computers and a 50-inch plasma display are provided to provide participants an opportunity to use PCs and see the impressive view on a large display. A teleconference system is installed in this room and is regularly used in practice by our staff connecting the Kitakyushu and the Keihanna Gigabit Laboratories via the ATM backbone of the Japan Gigabit Network. Also placed in this room are four commercially available 64 kbps-class videophones. Visitors can witness the high quality of moving pictures made possible by the advanced technology. The Tsukuba Gigabit Seminar is held in this room. The teleconference system is used for the seminar to invite participation in it from the Keihannna and Kitakyushu Gigabit Laboratories in the bi-directional mode. The seminar is also distributed simultaneously on the Internet.

12. Community Room

13. Digital Content Production Facility All the equipment and software necessary for the development of high performance interactive digital content are available, including ten digital video cameras. A video studio equipped with a lighting system and a computer and display console can be used for camera and editorial work using image data library. Acoustic synthesizing equipment is available for the creation of acoustic materials of digital voice and music and for research and development of technology for synchronizing them with motion video. Six desktop personal computers with 2D and 3D graphics animation software for the creation of computer graphics are available. Video editing equipment is to be used for editing the video content with the aid of available visual materials. Sound editing equipment is used for synchronizing the acoustic materials with video content

14. Digital Content Production Facility

15. Digital Content Production Facility

16. Digital Content Production Facility

17. Long Distance Optical Transmission Test Facility Fifteen cable wheels, each carrying a 10-km long fiber optics cable with 24 optical fibers inside, are stored on the roof of the headquarters building, exposed to the open sky. These are used to simulate a long-distance backbone cable in commercial use. A line of optical fiber as long as 3,600 km could be realized if all the fibers were connected in series. In current practice, however, the longest optical fiber used for testing is 600 km. Tests may include the evaluation of various line characteristics such as dependency on the wavelength, the integrity of links connecting network interface equipment, and the feasibility of application software services. In addition to the cable wheels, the facility consists of wavelength division multiplexing equipment and end terminal equipment for optical transmission at 10 Gbps.

18. Long Distance Optical Transmission Test Facility

19. Long Distance Optical Transmission Test Facility

20. Home-Networking Development and Test Facility Various items of equipment are available for research and development as well as for the evaluation of home-networking technologies to accommodate integrated customer services for access to high-speed networks. Topics of research and development may include installation of end system interfaces for high performance standards such as IEEE1394, design and evaluation of wired home-network, particularly with optical fibers, and of wireless broadband systems. Also included is the system evaluation for electronic acquisition of authorized certificates by the end user at the home-network terminal. One example is a certificate of residence from a municipal office. Here, personal security and recognition is an important subject of research. A pneumatically suspended optical table and an electromagnetic anechonic chamber insulated from electromagnetic interference are available.

21. Home-Networking Development and Test Facility Anechonic Chamber

22. Home-Networking Development and Test Facility Pneumatic Suspension Table

23. Home-Networking Development and Test Facility

24. High Speed Image Transmission Test Facility Research and development of image processing and transmission technologies for HDTV is being conducted. High-speed video transmission tests are being conducted between the Keihanna and Tsukuba Gigabit Laboratories through the Japan Gigabit Network backbone. The purpose of the current research is to create a seamless virtual space in which conference attendees at multiple sites are put together for teleconferencing. Techniques to achieve better face-to-face communication in a teleconference are being developed such as a method of maintaining the same eye-level contact.

25. High Speed Image Transmission Test Facility

26. High Speed Image Transmission Test Facility

27. Distributed Computer Resources Networking Facility Two systems of high-speed computers (one vector and one scalar) are installed in this room; each has its own advantages and/or disadvantages. The facility looks more like a usual computer center we can see everywhere. The difference is that they are implemented in a network system. Protocols and techniques are sought to make the best use of the advantages of those distributed heterogeneous computer resources over the network. A large-scale simulation of molecular orbits in computational chemistry is currently being undertaken as a research project.

28. Distributed Computer Resources Networking Facility

29. Distributed Computer Resources Networking Facility

30. ATM Network Systems Test Facility An ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) switching network is available. An ATM-ring system consisting of multiple local networks and their satellites is connected to the backbone network via an ATM switch. It may be used for the development of the technology for ATM network transmission and connection to the backbone network via ATM switches. It may also be used for the evaluation of error rate, jitter, and latency of transmission. Terminal ports are available for serial interface for analog four-wire circuits, digital 1.5 Mbps and 6 Mbps cables, and for the interface for ATM 155 Mbps switches.

31. ATM Network Systems Test Facility

32. ATM Network Systems Test Facility

33. High Quality Image Processing and Evaluation Facility Systems of servers and end equipment are available for the development and evaluation of high quality images. A 110 inch-type large screen and HDTV projectors are installed in a monitoring room. A research project for an advanced HDTV system is currently being undertaken and is used for public demonstration. The advanced system achieves a very high quality image with a resolution and brightness that are both four times higher than the conventional HDTV. It allows us to make detailed observations of electronically accessed art works from virtual libraries or museums. Advanced techniques for searching library data and for intellectual property right management, including electronic watermarks, are important topics of research.

34. High Quality Image Processing and Evaluation

35. HOW TO USE Tsukuba Gigabit Laboratory Facilities（with charge） application every 4 months (anytime if available) Gigabit Network（free of charge） application all year around Contact: staff@tsukuba.tao.go.jp

36. Service Charges: Examples Community Room 1,900yen/day/room Digital Content Production Facility 1,600 ～ 14,200yen/day/unit Home-Networking Development and Test Facility 10,200 ～ 37,500yen/day/unit Distributed Computer Resources Networking Facility 98,200yen/day/room discount: 80% for schools, 60% for small business

37. STATISTICS April, 2001～March, 2002 ●Research Topics：32（incl. short term 23） Tsukuba Gigabit Laboratory ●Research Teams：　２5 ●Visitors：　31 groups、　 450 persons

38. Tsukuba Gigabit Laboratory Number of Visitors & Groups

39. Tsukuba Gigabit Laboratory Number of Research Themes

40. OBJECTIVES ① support advanced research ② promote public interest and participation 　　in information society Tsukuba Gigabit Laboratory ③ enhance multimedia activities in local 　　community ④ promote/incubate venture businesses

41. ACHIEVEMENTS① support advanced research Distributed Computer Resources Networking Facility Papers 9（domestic 5、international 4） Long Distance Optical Transmission Test Facility Paper １（domestic）, Patent 1 Home-Networking Development and Test Facility Paper 9（domestic 6, international 3） High Speed Image Transmission Test Facility Paper 6（domestic）, Patent 3 Digital Content Production Facility Paper 4（domestic）, Patent 1 Community Room Paper 1（domestic）

42. ACHIEVEMENTS② promote public interest and participation in information Society Tsukuba Gigabit Seminar to 24th　(monthly except August and December) Lecture, Facility Tour TV-Conference System via JGN, Internet actively participated in public events

43. ACHIEVEMENTS③ enhance multimedia activities in local community Tsukuba WAN Project Participation in RABnet Planning Committee Promotion of Tsukuba WAN Project Installation of ADM School Internet Cooperation for installation and start-up

44. ACHIEVEMENTS④ promote/incubate venture businesses E-SCIENCE Inc. http://www.e-science.co.jp/ Registered User：　Tsukuba Multimedia Inc. Facility：　Digital Contents Production Facility Research Theme：Local Community Information and Multimedia Digital Contents for Internet　

45. ACHIEVEMENTS④ promote/incubate venture businesses NPO Revolve Institute of School Education Registered User：Revolve Inst. of School Edu. Facility：　Community Room Research Theme：　Teaching Method to Give Children Good Motivation to Learn English

46. ACHIEVEMENTS④ promote/incubate venture businesses DENNOKYO Inc http://www1.sphere.ne.jp/hirogeyou Registered User:　PC User’s Club Facility: Community Room Research Theme: Development of Effective Teaching Method and Manual for PC Beginners

47. ACHIEVEMENTS④ promote/incubate venture businesses WELLNESS RESEARCH Inc Registered User:　Univ. Tsukuba Facility: Community Room Research Theme: Development of IT-Based Community e-Health Systems

48. Tsukuba Science City 1963 Cabinet decision 1970 Enacted into Law 1973 University of Tsukuba 1980 City Development Plan 1985 Tsukuba Science Expo 1997 Basic Law on Science and Technology 1999 Tsukuba Gigabit Laboratory 2001 Independent Administrative Agencies 2005 Tsukuba Express (New Joban Line)

49. Location: 60 km North East of Tokyo Population:　　　　190,000 Researchers: 13,000 public： 8,500 private： 4,500 Research Institutions:　 approx. 200 (34= national)

50. Independent Administrative Agencies Mat. Sci. Agricultural Res. Org. Earth Sci. Disast. Prev. Agrobiological Sci. Environmental Studies Agro-Env. Sci. Sci. Musium Rural Eng. Teacher’s Development Food Res. Inst. Nat. Archieves Int. Res. Cent. Agr. Sci. Public Works Res. Inst. Forest. & For. Products Building Res. Inst. Seeds & Seedings Adv. Industrial Sci. Tech.