Global Site
Breadcrumb navigation
Shaping the Future - Next-Generation Research:Wataru Kono
April 21, 2026
Researching in NEC Laboratories America, where our Optical Fiber Sensing Technology was born
Wataru Kono
Assistant Manager
Connected Infrastructure Research Laboratories*
After completing a doctorate program in physics, Kono joined NEC in April 2020. He engaged in applied research of optical fiber sensing. In October 2022, Kono was appointed to work at NEC Laboratories America, Inc. Working on more fundamental research of optical fiber sensing, his research papers have been accepted in reputable international conferences. In October 2025, he returned to NEC Advanced Networks Laboratories (presently Connected Infrastructure Research Laboratories). Drawing on his experiences and insights that he acquired in North America, Kono continues to develop optical fiber sensing technologies that can be deployed for wide-area sensing in any environment around the world.
- *This article is based on an interview held in March 2026.
The Advanced Network Research Laboratories (as it was called at the time of the interview) was later renamed to Connected Infrastructure Research Laboratories as a result of organizational restructuring.
Tackling exciting research in a stable environment
By the time I finished my doctorate program, I was getting ready to be married and was starting to consider economic stability. However, at the same time, I couldn’t imagine myself joining a company yet. I also remember that I had a strong aspiration not to give up my challenges for research and development back then.
It was at this time that I encountered a booth introducing optical fiber sensing technology in a corner of the venue where an event showcasing NEC Laboratories was being held. It was still a small exhibition back in those days. There, I heard about using optical fiber to sense various events hundreds of kilometers away, which really piqued my curiosity. It took me by surprise to learn that large-scale sensing is possible using globally-deployed communication networks, that such a deployment can function like a neural network that covers the entire planet. I had been conducting research on many-body quantum theory out of academic interest, but this experience spurred a fresh interest in me—to apply this technology to society.
Additionally, I found out during the selection process that the core technologies for optical fiber sensing are being developed at NEC Laboratories America. Hearing that you would be working at Laboratories America if you seriously were to pursue this area of research, I decided to apply for a position in NEC and received an official offer to join the company. The possibility of a career abroad had a challenging charm.
Research at Laboratories America accepted by top international conferences
For about two and a half years since joining NEC, I worked on the application and implementation of optical fiber sensing in Japan. I remember being impressed when we detected microseismic activity for the first time during verification—it made me realize that we just sensed the Earth.
In 2022, after the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, I was set to relocate to Laboratories America. Since the core technologies for optical fiber sensing are developed in Laboratories America, we start from a more fundamental approach. In Japan, I had been using optical fiber sensing devices provided from Laboratories America. After relocating to Laboratories America, I was delighted to be able to have in-depth talks with the researchers about how these devices work, calculate, and behave.
My research topic concerns effective use of acoustic signals obtained by optical fiber sensing. Since it is meaningless to simply sense sounds, I constantly focused on how to recognize the acoustic signals and translate them to value. Many possibilities are open to optical fiber sensing, which is characterized by its flexible form and excellent sensing ability even in an environment where installation of electronic devices is difficult. My research paper that discussed our research on recognition technology combined with a language model, as well as another research paper about active sensing technology that emits light and detects vibrations from the reflected light, were accepted to ICA SSP (IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing) 2025 and CLEO (Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics) 2025.
Pursuing interesting research led by curiosity
NEC’s Laboratories America has many outstanding AI researchers. Among them are many active researchers who are often named in renowned conferences every year such as the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference (CVPR) and the International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR). I enjoyed inspiring discussions with the members of the optical fiber sensing team at Laboratories America, who asked high-level questions.
Laboratories America also has a startup-like light-footedness and energetic leverage. For example, if we talked about doing a demo in a meeting, the next day we would have all the supplies ready, bought and gathered through online shopping and whatnot, so that we could try it out right away. Such instances make me recall that it was an exciting environment full of expectations for new creations. It perfectly matched my personality as well.
That is, I am the type of person who steps in first—even on a thorny path—rather than researching far and wide and making sure of various elements before proceeding. I may stumble and fall and learn a painful lesson, but still enjoy exploring different paths. I want to be a researcher that keeps at what I find interesting, led by my curiosity. Therefore, I don’t have any particular goal for the future (laughs).
Although I engage in intelligent labor as a researcher, I don’t intend to rely too much on brainwork. First by using my own body and readily available resources, I think about what I can positively do and to what extent during the course of my research, which is like a process of optimizing what I personally thought was interesting.
- *The information posted on this website is the information at the time of publication.
A day at work
Message to my past self in my school days
Private column
With my family, I go to a nearby park and facilities where kids can play. It is my routine to have my one-year-old, who was born in the U.S., and my dog, which also joined my family in the U.S., play to their hearts’ content. Taking advantage of my child’s nap time, I go jogging to keep my weight in check or go out for lunch with friends. I am also planning a Café Scientifique with friends with PhDs who I met during my years of studying abroad.
