Message from the President February.2019

The technology that I think is most promising in 2019 is the fifth-generation mobile communication system (hereinafter, “5G”). As expected, it was 5G that took center stage at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), one of the largest consumer electronics trade shows in the world, which was held in January 2019 in Las Vegas and attracted about 180,000 visitors. Exhibiting companies showcased their 5G-related services, showing the possibility that the technology will enrich the future and change the industrial structure significantly. Above all, 5G will have a tremendous impact on next-generation technologies in the automotive industry. 5G enables the ultrahigh-speed transmission of huge volumes of data with low latency even while moving at high speed. Use of this technology will rapidly accelerate the development of technologies including automotive sensors, inter-vehicle communication systems, and road-vehicle communication systems, which are essential for autonomous cars. It will thus contribute to realizing a safe, stable autonomous driving system.

I also think that the 5G technology will change the concepts of what is real and what is virtual in our world. High-speed transmission of a huge volume of data will make it possible to create a virtual world, one indistinguishable from the real world, in an instant. This will change the purposes of moving and traveling in the real world. That is not all. The more faithfully, elaborately and comprehensively the world is reproduced virtually, the less different it will grow from the real world, making it possible to create a time machine that permits travel back and forth in time as you like. In the future, many products and services will be able to create new added value by combining the 5G line with next-generation technologies such as AI and IoT. On the other hand, the boundary between real and virtual worlds may sometimes be unclear.

As I have told you, the evolution of technologies will greatly change the design and development projects of engineers. I predict that, with 5G technology, evolutions in the coming ten years will be quicker than those in the past ten years. Technologies will definitely disrupt the work domains of design and development projects. Even in creative domains, harmony between people and technology will be essential.

It is possible, for example, that the flow of schematic planning will change so that digital simulation is used to develop certain patterns to choose from. In this case, the job of an engineer is to choose the optimal one from the patterns of the schematic plan, but this alone will not create added value. The most important point is how to arrange the plan by making full use of human wisdom, knowledge and sensibility. It is this arrangement capability that our clients seek from engineers as their market value.

I ask our engineers to continue improving their creativity by keeping their goals high.