Vol.2 No.2 (June, 2007)

Special Issue: Embedded Software and Solutions

TAKAHASHI Toshihiko
Advisor

KAWAURA Tatsushi
General Manager,
Embedded Solutions Business Promotion Division,
NEC Corporation

The age of embedded software has arrived, and with it has come the urgent demand for solutions for a variety of issues ranging from multifunction/large-scale development, more advanced functionality and reduction of development time and costs to multi-model development and higher quality assurance. This article will describe how the technological resources of the entire NEC Group collaborate as one to realize our basic policy for the provision of total solutions that address the abovementioned issues. In addition, we would like to focus on the fields of "embedded platforms" which are effective for problem solving, "embedded software components," and the "embedded software development environment," and introduce some of our cutting-edge solutions in these fields.

Embedded Systems/Platforms

TAKANO Naruhiko, KUWAHARA Kazuyoshi, WATANABE Hiroshi

The platformOViA is a semiconductor solution that systematizes LSIs optimized for mobile devices, digital AV devices and automotive information systems with the OS or middleware, which is the basic component of a system's configuration. It features standardization of the multimedia processing interface to enable the most advanced IP available in the IT industry and pre-integration to enhance the product development capabilities of users. platformOViA represents the key strategy for NEC Electronics Corporation to expand its ASSP (Application-Specific Standard Products) business.

ABE Tsuyoshi, SAKAI Junji, TORII Sunao

It is predicted that in the future there will be a need for embedded equipment that will feature very advanced information processing and high-functionality to enable very complicated processing. This is as important as the traditional requirements for high reliability and high responsiveness. This paper proposes a dual OS that fulfills all of the above requirements by combining a real-time OS for embedding and an SMP OS for use as the server. Its effectiveness is demonstrated by packaging it with the MPCore SoC multi-core processor for embedded applications.

TAKANO Yosuke, YAMASHITA Nobuyuki, FUJITA Yoshihiro

Advances in the functions of terminals including cellular phones and car navigation systems have made an easy-to-use UI (User Interface) and a platform supporting it more required than ever. To meet these needs, NEC has developed a UI platform for the implementation of a human-friendly robot, called RoboStudio, which we are currently trying to apply laterally to various terminals. This paper is intended to describe the actual measures that are being taken to achieve this result, including Linux implementation, weight reduction and CG rendering.

Image/Voice Processing Component Solutions

HIRATA Kyoji, OAMI Ryoma

This paper is intended to introduce a photo management function for effective filing and browsing of a large number of photos. Specifically, it describes the functions including 1) a similarity search function for sorting photos based on their visual features such as the color, composition or texture, 2) an event grouping function for grouping photos according to their recording time and 3) a redundant photo detection / hierarchical presentation function for browsing efficiently by evaluating mutual visual similarities between photos. The experimental results using actual photos are given at the end of the paper.

HOSHUYAMA Osamu

This paper introduces a nonlinear echo suppression technology that enables compact equipment such as a notebook PC or cellular phone to be employed for handsfree use without a headset. In the suppression of echo, (audio feedback from the loudspeaker to the microphone) the distorted echo produced by vibrations of the compact loudspeaker or cabinet has been particularly difficult in the past. However, the newly developed frequency domain processing technology makes it possible to cancel the echo at a level that permits high-quality talk.

Embedded Software Development Environment Solutions

KAWAMURA Kantou, SUZUKI Kazuaki, HORIKAWA Takashi
YAMASHITA Toshiaki, SAKAKI Daiya

Recently embedded software development has noticeably been increasing in scale and complexity, and reductions in the delivery term and improvements in development efficiency have now become critical management issues. To deal with them, NEC has developed a performance measurement/analysis tool called "mevalet," which is compatible with Linux running on ARM CPU, and features an added data save function using a miniSD card instead of a data transfer function that uses the network. This tool has improved the development efficiency significantly, making it possible to solve a performance issue that has not previously been solvable however hard we tried. This paper is intended to introduce this tool together with a description of cases in which it was actually applied in in-house embedded software development.

TOKUOKA Hiroki, MIYAZAKI Yoshiaki, HASHIMOTO Yuusuke

The newly developed C-language verification tool VARVEL utilizes the model checking technology that is one of the formal methods and detects bugs (runtime errors) that are inherent in programs by modeling the source codes written in C-language and verifying them statically and exhaustively. This paper is intended to introduce the technical background of VARVEL and outline its functions.

Special Issue: User Participation Type WEB Services

MURAKI Kazunori
NEC Technical Journal Editorial Committee Member

Over these past few years, the Internet has been undergoing a transformation. One of the key shifts has been increasing opportunities for anyone to become an originator of content on the worldwide web. As a consequence, users are tapping into the increased benefi ts of services that provide new web access, experiences and enjoyment and rediscovering the novelty of well-established services enhanced with new value. The innovative application of such services and added value is also penetrating B-to-C and internal corporate activities.
In this issue, we would like to provide a broad overview of how NEC Group companies are meeting the challenge of user-participatory web services and systems.

Overview

SHIRAISHI Nobuhisa

Since around 2005, Web 2.0 mashup services such as the Google Maps etc. are becoming familiar conversation topics. Web 2.0 has now passed the stage at which it was merely a source of "amusing" services for consumers and it has now begun to exert various impacts on software, services, SI and development techniques. The developmental styles and product/service strategies of software development businesses are under strong pressures for innovation and in support of this trend, NEC is promoting various Web 2.0 influenced activities. This paper is intended to consider the development and product/service strategies that are required in the Web 2.0 age and also to introduce the Web 2.0-related activities that are being pioneered at NEC.

Business-Oriented Platform Technologies

KAKIZAWA Yukihiro

The concept of Enterprise 2.0 that uses the Web 2.0 technology for corporate affairs is expanding. The concept of Enterprise 2.0 is implemented by combining technologies for blogging, SNS, Wiki and RSS as well as open-source software. Enterprise 2.0 may be delivered to the customer as a service as well as a system.

SHIMAZU Hideo, KOIKE Shinichi

This paper is intended to discuss the impact of Web 2.0 on knowledge management (KM) and the future orientation of KM. These days, the term KM is used rather less than hitherto. However, as Web 2.0 has made its debut and user participation-type culture has expanded, the new concept of "collective intelligence" has been attracting attention. Opinions are currently being advanced with regard to the concept and process of KM and the system architecture that can be used to implement it. This paper also deals with the issue of knowledge provision, a traditional issue of KM, and introduces a KM model in the context of the Web 2.0 age that can expand collective intelligence in a positive spiral by closely linking it to knowledge extraction from various communication tools and job systems.

Elemental Technologies

MORINAGA Satoshi, YAMANISHI Kenji

Due to the advancement of user participated web services, consumer generated media (CGM), such as grapevine communications on blogs and bulletin boards, are about to influence real society enormously. This paper introduces a number of text mining technologies intended for an integrated analysis of such CGM information (cyber space), television, newspapers and other such journalistic information (real space). It will also introduce the analysis corner of the "BIGLOBE Shunkan Ranking," in which analysis results are provided by the NEC Data Mining Technology Center, as an example of an actual analysis service that uses such technologies.

Case Studies

TANAKA Eiichiro, MIZUMORI Yoshiyuki, KOMATSU Chihiro
ANDO Wataru, TAKESHITA Hirohide

Since March 2004, BIGLOBE has been providing a blog service called "WebryBlog." Much interest is being expressed by from users in the recent trends in EC (Electric Commerce) sites and portal sites that are gaining advantages from the comments and reviews posted to blogs. In response BIGLOBE has developed a CGM platform that enables use of the advantages of the "WebryBlog" system and its accumulated blog articles and data. This paper introduces three main subjects; the CGM platform architecture, a "CGM Map" service that pools the resources of blog articles with the map function (Google Maps API) and a "Profile" service that enables the control of posting access to the portal site.

FUKUOKA Hideyuki

As a measure to promote more efficient and effective information sharing and communication inside a company, the company in-house blog hosting service is attracting market attention. The NEC Group has been using an internal company SNS called the "InnovationCafe," which has changed employees working styles and accelerated their communications beyond the barriers of different departments and organizations. Some of the software to be used for the "InnovationCafe" has been developed by the NEC employees themselves using the Mashup method in order to achieve a more convenient usage environment. NEC shares in blogs on the Web in connection with a variety of its products and can as a result provide abundant know-how that has been accumulated in operating and managing the "InnovationCafe" to our client companies. We are thus in a position to offer a wide range of solutions regarding SNS business.

OKADA Fumikazu, HONDA Kazuhide
IWABUCHI Shigaku, OKAJIMA Yasunori

To support the concept of creating a system that provides convenient access to users' interests and views, BIGLOBE has introduced a user participation type service that provides comment, trackback and blog functions for content located at portal sites and classified it into different genre. By introducing CGM functions, user interests and trends are analyzed systematically in order to distribute information ranked according to user popularity after editing them to a new content. This article introduces CGM functions employed for two case studies; "BIGLOBE Stream" which is a free movies and animations distribution site and "BIGLOBE Travel" which is a travel information site.

Optimized Solutions by Network System Integration

Corporate Profile

Corporate Profile : NEC Networks & Systems Integration Corporation

Now that the real NGN age is about to begin, a network environment that is safe, secure, comfortable and ubiquitous is becoming indispensable for our everyday lives. In consideration of this trend, in April 2007 NEC Telenetworx, Ltd., which had become a subsidiary in 2006, was integrated into NEC Networks & Systems Integration Corp.. This move was in order to enhance one-stop services for network systems and a new corporate system was thus initiated. As a total systems integrator in the network solution domain of the NEC Group, NEC Networks & Systems Integration Corp. will offer customers safe, secure and comfortable network-related systems based on an integration capability that makes full use of the latest technologies.

Support Services

GOTO Takeshi, GOSHIMA Sadahiro

This paper describes "TAPA," an international security standard for forwarder warehouses, issues related to the TAPA certification in Japan and connected work undertaken by NEC Networks & System Integration Corporation.

Case Studies

ISHIWATARI Yoshitsugu, HORIGOME Hiroki, KOBAYASHI Yusuke

Technologies for identifying the locations of persons and objects are advancing rapidly, and various means are used for the identification of locations such as GPS, base station-based positioning information, RFID and wireless LAN. The Wireless Positioning System of NEC Networks & System Integration Corp. enables the solution of customer problems using two methods. These are the method for positioning the target according to the difference in the times of receptions of radio waves and the method of detecting if the target is inside the target area according to the strength of the received radio wave. This article introduces the Wireless Positioning System of NEC Networks & System Integration Corp. by focusing on its mechanism and by considering cases of system introductions.

General Papers

OMATA Hitomi, SAITO Hiroyuki, KUBOTA Kiyohito

ConforMeeting/e is a business meetings solution that also comprehensively fulfils the requirements of board meetings. These are "advanced security," "productivity improvements," "support for quick administrative action" and "reduction in the cost of meetings." ConforMeeting/e is the board meeting solution that has been used consistently for NEC Informatec Systems, Ltd. board meetings. This paper introduces the features of the business conference solution as an advanced communications technology from the aspect of management functions and meetings.

ARUTAKI Akira, KIKUCHI Yoshihide, EGAWA Takashi
KIRIHA Yoshiaki, IWATA Atsushi, KANOH Toshiyuki

The Internet and IP technology have become the modern amenities, and are expected to become ICT infrastructure to support the future ubiquitous digital society. However, they show several vulnerabilities at present. Hence next generation lifeline and new digital business/revenue creation can be established by deploying dependable ICT systems.
This paper focuses on the concept designs of dependable networks, these architecture and emerging technologies. And new business creation is another aspect. Network-based new services/businesses can survive if and only if the network dependability is guaranteed. This topic is discussed as business model schemes in this paper. We also discuss antinomy relations between dependability and "ease-of-use," and open issues such as the social consensus.

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