In 1999, the NTT Group created the NTT Group Ecology Program 21 with the goal of contributing to the creation of a sustainable society. One of the three core concepts of the program is R&D on environmental technologies. Research in this field is broad, encompassing clean energy, environmental monitoring systems, energy-efficient devices, and more.
And it does not stop at these fields: we also conduct R&D on the environmental impact of telecommunications itself, including verifying environmental impact through life-cycle assessment of telecom systems, quantifying the environmental contribution of IT services, and the like.
Creation of New Portable Fuel-cell Prototype
Prototype Micro Fuel Cell (Left) and Hydrogen Charger (Right)
In February 2005, the NTT Energy and Environment Systems Laboratories created a compact proton exchange membrane fuel cell (micro PEFC) fueled by hydrogen gas, and capable of being equipped directly in a mobile phone. A mobile phone equipped with the prototype successfully started up, and sent and received calls. The labs also developed a device to automatically refill the micro PEFC with hydrogen.
As the performance and functionality of mobile phones and other portable electronic devices continue to grow, the lack of capacity of the batteries that power them is becoming an issue. Hopes are rising that fuel cells, with their low environmental impact, will be the breakthrough technology that resolves this issue. Currently, attention is being focused on a type of fuel cell that is fueled by methanol. Methanol-powered fuel cells, however, produce the greenhouse gas CO2 when they generate power. Additionally, they have insufficient output densities, making them difficult to miniaturize. The micro PEFC use hydrogen gas as fuel, and thus do not produce CO2 when generating power. Additionally, they have high output on a par with modern lithium-ion batteries, enabling the creation of compact fuel cells.
Environment and Disaster-prevention Monitoring System Using Multi-hop Wireless LAN
It is important to be able to rapidly collect information and monitor the environment, illegal dumping, and the like, even in areas lacking telecommunications networks. To meet this challenge, NTT Energy and Environment Systems Laboratories are researching an environment and disaster-prevention monitoring system.
This system consists of an ad-hoc temporary network system using the multi-hop wireless LAN that enables easy construction of wireless broadband networks at anytime and anywhere.
Using this system can reduce CO2 emissions by about 99% over the wired networks created by laying optical fiber or the like in areas without network infrastructure, because it reduces the construction and power consumption requirements. This system is also effective for disaster monitoring in times of emergency.
NTT Successfully Develops Ultralow-power High-speed Single-electron Memory
NTT Basic Research Laboratories have successfully developed a new "single-electron" memory. This new type of memory is able to store massive amounts of data, by manipulating electrons one by one. Single electrons are accurately transferred to the memory node (see the below figure), thereby information can be represented and stored by the number of electrons. This increases the memory capacity of a unit device five-fold.
The single-electron memory, however, stores about one ten-thousandth the total electrons stored by conventional memory, and power consumption can be reduced accordingly. This will help to reduce environmental impact. Other features are that the memory operates at room temperature, and does not require special materials or manufacturing techniques; it can be fabricated using existing semiconductor-processing technologies.
The technology is currently at the basic-research stage of a discrete device, but it is getting more attention as a future technology to replace DRAM (dynamic random access memory) and flash memory.
New High-performance Semiconductor Laser Effectively Detects CO2, NOx, and Other Substances
2-plus μm DFB Laser Light Source (Butterfly Module)
NTT and NTT Electronics have successfully developed semiconductor laser light sources capable of emitting at 2.0μm to 2.1μm, using an application of design and fabrication technologies for optical-communications light sources cultivated at NTT Photonics Laboratories.
At wavelengths of above 2μm, light absorption by CO2, NOx, and other important environmental substances is high. Until now, however, there have been no compact, high-performance semiconductor lasers capable of emitting at this wavelength. The newly developed distributed-feedback (DFB) laser emitting beyond 2 μm is much more sensitive than conventional semiconductor lasers. For instance, it can use a CO2 absorption line about 10 times more intense than communication wavelength band.
This 2-plus μm laser light source will enable creation of much more precise systems than previously possible, including real-time monitoring of CO2, NOx, and other substances, as well as automobile engine-exhaust control systems.
Eco-efficiency and Factor of IP Connection Services
Some believe that in order for a society to develop in a sustainable way, we should create more profits and value with less environmental impact (for example, energy consumption or CO2 emissions). Eco-efficiency*1 and Factor*2 have been advocated as a quantitative index of reduced environmental impact and increased value.
The NTT Information Sharing Laboratory Group evaluates the environmental load of telecommunications services using life-cycle assessment (LCA). The group evaluated the eco-efficiency and factor of telecommunications load per second for IP connection services. The results showed that B FLET'S, FLET'S ADSL, and FLET'S ISDN have excellent eco-efficiency (in that order). Calculating the factor with FLET'S ISDN as the baseline, B FLET'S and FLET'S ADSL were found to have dramatically improved factor, of 2,360 and 79, respectively. The group continues to work toward decreasing environmental load and increasing value through LCA of environmental load.
Encoding Technology Enables Energy Efficient High Reality Large Screens
NTT Cyber Space Laboratories have developed a technology for the configuration of single-unit encoders for use in high-reality large-screen (referred to here as SHR: Super High Resolution) image communication. This enables the creation of an energy-efficient, compact system that uses one fourth the power and is one sixth the size of conventional systems.
An encoder is a device that compresses video and audio data into a predefined stream. The resolution of high-definition television (HDTV) is more than six times better than that of conventional television, and high-reality large-screen video is four times better than that (2,160 vertical and 3,840 horizontal pixels). In order to create video images for these screens, however, it is necessary to appropriately coordinate the encoded data in order to prevent inconsistent image quality.
NTT Cyber Space Laboratories have improved image quality with the development of cooperative-rate technology and a dedicated integrated circuit (custom LSI). This custom LSI also reduces the power consumption of the system as a whole. The technology makes possible such applications as live broadcasts of soccer matches into "satellite" stadiums. In addition, recording and playback are also possible, raising expectations for such future applications as digital cinemas and stereo 3D TV.
New Shielded Room Reduces Environmental Impact
Information security measures, such as data encryption, and countermeasures against physical intrusion, such as room entry/exit control, are coming into wide use in order to protect personal information and confidential data.
Recently, a new type of measure has been grabbing attention: electromagnetic security countermeasures to prevent theft of important information obtained from electromagnetic leakage and electromagnetic wave attacks. In September 2004, NTT Facilities launched a new product called the iDC Shielded Vault-a shielded room that improves the electromagnetic security functionality of servers in data centers and elsewhere.
Conventional shielded rooms were extremely expensive and require a long time to build, yet were not scalable. NTT Facilities gave 19-inch cabinet racks an earthquake-resistant construction, and used simple metal panel bonding technology that prevents electromagnetic waves from escaping from tiny gaps in the cabinet. In doing so, NTT Facilities created an economical, scalable, and earthquake-resistant (capable of withstanding a tremor of 6+ on the Japanese seismic scale) electromagnetic shielded room that can be installed in as little as one day.
NTT Facilities also assessed the environmental impact of the shielded rooms over their entire life cycle, from manufacturing, to use, to disposal, and found that the iDC Shielded Vault's construction method generated 57.1% less CO2 equivalent than conventional methods.
