ENG VOL.48
January 2019
News ____ ETRI Issue
Headline News
ETRI Develops 25-Gbps Tactile Internet Technology
ETRI researchers developed core technology to make the internet much faster than it is now. Increasing the speed of the Internet to such a great extent had been considered a difficult task, but the researchers successfully improved communication networks connecting users with communications stations only by equipment improvement without any additional deployment of optical fibers. To be more specific, the capacity of the networks increased 10-fold, and the latency improved 10-fold. ETRI was the first to develop the core technology that allows 25-Gbps Internet, significantly exceeding the maximum speed of the existing wired Internet at 2.5 Gbps. The enhanced speed allows users to download a 3 GB movie in a second, and this means that data transmission can be implemented within a time period of 0.001 seconds, within which a human feels a sense of touch. The development of this new Internet technology will open the door to the era of the tactile Internet.
ETRI’s International Standard Patents Exceed 800 in Number
The number of international standard patents of ETRI, the county’s largest government-funded research institutes, exceeded 800. ETRI is now truly one of the top IPR producers in the country. The institute announced that the total number of its international standard patterns exceeded 800 on November 29, 2018. International standard patterns are important intellectual properties because they serve as seeds to reliably collect patent royalties and lay the groundwork for remaining competitive in the global intellectual property arena. According to the announcement, ETRI’s international standard patents are mainly in communications and broadcast fields, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), a mobile communications standard, High-Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC), and ATSC 3.0.
ETRI Develops Optical Switching Technology for Data Centers
ETRI announced its development of an optical switching system that can replace existing electric switches used in data centers, which have faced setbacks in pursuit of further performance improvement due to their physical limitations. Energy consumption decreased by 30%, and the network latency improved 10-fold.
The optical switch developed by ETRI researchers is a light-driven switching system. It is based on the Arrayed Waveguide Grating Router (AWGR), which is feasible for implementation. This technology will serve as core optical switching technology (Packet-Switched Optical Network, PSON), providing a perfect solution to traffic problems, one of the most pending issues in data centers.
ETRI Ranks World’s First in International Challenge on Advanced Traffic Surveillance
Smart vehicle recognition technology for traffic surveillance, developed and submitted by ETRI researchers, ranked first in the world in an international challenge. On December 6, 2018, ETRI announced that its researchers ranked first and third, respectively, in the detection section of the international competition hosted by the conference on Advanced Video and Signal-based Surveillance (AVSS), the world’s largest video security conference. The event was held in Auckland, New Zealand, for four days starting from November 27, 2018.
Aside from winning the AVSS 2018 Challenge, Jong Taek Lee, ETRI’s senior researcher, presented a paper on deep learning-based vehicle detection technology at AVSS 2018’s IWT4S, attracting significant attention from researchers in relevant fields. The technology introduced in the paper concerned a new method capable of achieving better performance in a video analysis environment, which is new and more challenging than being given learning data. The technology then made it possible to achieve the best record in the competition.
ETRI Enables Web Browser Authentication by Smartphone on FIDO2
ETRI researchers developed Bluetooth-based authentication device technology that uses a human face as an authentication measure. The development will contribute to further enhancing security and making it easier to perform self-authentication. ETRI announced its development of technology that allows self-authentication by face recognition, in which a smartphone is used as an authentication device, especially when authentication is needed in web browsers. The application of the technology makes it possible to use a smartphone as an authentication measure on a PC or laptop while being connected via low-power Bluetooth.
ETRI Commercializes 100G Optical Communications Components in Cooperation with SMEs
ETRI provided support to SMEs developing optical transmitters and receivers that connect switches with servers in data centers, and this collaboration led to a significant increase in their revenues. This consorted effort was more meaningful because it was made at the time when these SEMs were struggling in business.
To be more specific, ETRI helped SMEs that produced various components of optical transmitters and receivers, such as light source devices, light receiving elements, optical wavelength multiplexers, 100G ceramic optical packages, and micro-optical lenses, and as a result, they made tangible outcomes. At that time, these optical component producers had recently through a downturn and were in need of a new growth engine. To support them, ETRI performed joint research with them, mobilizing all its accumulated resources, including its technologies, manpower, equipment, and facilities. This united effort led to this great achievement, i.e., the commercialization of 100G optical communications components.
ETRI Wins R&D Institution Team of the Year Award
ETRI was awarded the R&D Institution Team of the Year Award at IPBC Asia 2018, an annual event where global IP experts are brought together, in recognition of its excellence in patent management. IPBC Asia 2018 was held at Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Shanghai, China, on December 5, 2018.
This awards ceremony was hosted by IAM, the internationally renowned British journal on IP. Notably, many Chinese and Japanese businesses were awarded, but ETRI was the only awarded institution from Korea. This award is more meaningful in that the dominant IP management competence of the institute, as Korea’s government-funded research institution, has been recognized on a global level.
ETRI received high scores due to its excellence in patent management, for example, collecting patent royalties based on its multiple core patents in various fields, such as 4G mobile communications technology (LTE/LTE-A), Wi-Fi, and High-Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC).