Reverse the 5G/millimeter wave negative loop to drive IX (Mototaka Taneya, Senior Managing Executive Officer CTO, Sharp Corporation)
ODAIBA IX Core/Industrial Transformation (IX) Leaders
Leaders Transforming Industrial Technology (No. 3)

Sharp is developing many technologies related to telecommunications, including 5G. What is lacking in the utilization of communications to promote IX, and what can be changed to reverse the situation from a negative loop to a positive loop? We asked Mototaka Taneya, Senior Managing Executive Officer, CTO and General Manager of Next Innovation Group at Sharp, to share his insights. (TeleGraphic Editorial Department)

--Please tell us about the positioning of 5G, Beyond 5G, and other telecom-related technology development and business within Sharp.

Taneya: Let me briefly explain Sharp's organizational structure. First of all, we have four business groups: Smart Life & Energy, Smart Office, Universal Network, and Display Devices. These are Smart Life & Energy, Smart Office, Universal Network, and Display Devices. In addition, there are the Next Innovation Group and the AI Development Group, and within the Next Innovation Group is the R&D Division. The R&D Division develops millimeter-wave RF (radio frequency) modules, next-generation wireless base stations, V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) technology, and standardization technologies for communication and imaging technologies.

--Which business group is in charge of 5G and other telecommunications-related business?

Taneya: The Telecommunications Business Division, under the Universal Network, provides smartphones and local 5G related products. However, that is not all. The Smart Life & Energy Business Group, which mainly handles white goods such as refrigerators and solar power generation, is developing SoCs (System on Chip) for Beyond 5G IoT communications. Under this business group is Sharp Semiconductor Innovation Corporation (SSIC), an IC design company that makes devices that generate plasmacluster ions, a technology used in air purifiers. Because of its technology to develop and manufacture such devices, Beyond 5G related devices are included in the White Goods business group.

This SoC for IoT communication for Beyond 5G was started with a fund from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. We are currently in our fourth year of research and development.

Enables IX application of Beyond 5G by implementing functions in software

--When it comes to SoCs for communications, this is an area where foreign chip vendors have a lot of power.

Taneya: We were told that it would be difficult to create a device that could compete with foreign chip vendors, but the feature of Sharp's SoC for Beyond 5G IoT communication is that the functions can be reorganized through software. For example, standards set by standardization organizations such as 3GPP include a number of optional functions in addition to the mandatory functions. Even if there is an optional function that you want to use, you will not be able to realize the function that has not actually been implemented in the SoC. On the other hand, with Sharp's SoCs, it is possible to implement functions in software, so it is possible to realize the optional functions that you are looking for.

--How do you think you will contribute to the utilization of Beyond 5G in the industrial sector?

Taneya: Looking at the world of industry transformation (IX), one of the factors that have led to a deadlock in the use of 5G and other technologies is the barrier to implementing such functions in SoCs.

Products in the IX world will require less absolute quantity than smartphones and other products. On the other hand, we believe that SoCs that can implement functions through software will make business viable and promote IX. This is exactly why I was able to make contact with Mr. Nakamura of NTT DoCoMo (Takehiro Nakamura, Project Leader of XGMF 6G Promotion Project) and had the opportunity to speak at the ODAIBA IX Core, an event hosted by XGMF. I was given the opportunity to speak at the ODAIBA IX Core, an event hosted by XGMF.

The development of the SoC is being carried out in collaboration with Professor Akihiro Nakao of the University of Tokyo. Professor Nakao talks about the democratization of communications, pointing out that there is a need to change from a situation in which a specific company holds the foundation of communications to one in which user companies have a degree of freedom. We believe that this perspective is also relevant to the promotion of IX.

Need to reverse and activate the millimeter wave utilization loop

--What do you hope to promote with the ODAIBA IX Core at XGMF this time?

Taneya: The first major framework is the utilization of millimeter wave and local 5G and the realization of Beyond 5G beyond that. While there is the utilization of millimeter wave and local 5G and the expansion of concepts for the realization of Beyond 5G, new applications must be developed. This will require the development of technologies to implement applications. We believe that such technological development will turn a loop that will further promote millimeter wave and local 5G.

Unfortunately, however, this loop is now turning in the opposite direction. Even if there are applications, the cost of products and technologies to realize them is high due to low volume, or conversely, the absence of solutions means that the developed technologies are not implemented and utilized. It is a negative loop.

--what will trigger the reversal of that loop?

Taneya: As a vendor, Sharp is working to create a software-defined platform that can be implemented by a small number of vendors. With this SoC, we should be able to pick up even small applications and solutions that major vendors are not interested in.

In terms of applications, we are looking to take advantage of points in the world of Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), satellite communications, and V2X, where millimeter wave-like technologies can be used. We would like to take the opportunity to reverse this loop, including portable local 5G systems, and we believe that a new world view will emerge in the IX world as well.
(Reporting and composition by TeleGraphic editorial staff)

Mr. Taneya is scheduled to introduce Sharp's 5G/6G business with a focus on the topic of SoC (System on Chip) in the world of IX (Industrial Transformation) at a workshop organized by XGMF and ODAIBA IX Core on Thursday, November 21, 2024, entitled "Millimeter wave implementation as a stepping stone to 6G in the factory 5G field. Sharp's 5G/6G business will be introduced with a focus on the topic of SoC (System on Chip) (online).From this pagePlease apply. (TeleGraphic Editorial Board)