Tetsuya Yamamoto reviews how cellular technologies make the world better
Continuous innovation is the core drive of societal progress. It does not only profoundly change our life but also injects strong momentum into the sustainable development of the global economy. Thanks to licensing platforms like Avanci, global technology sharing has become more convenient, enabling innovations to efficiently be adopted in products and services, thereby accelerating the implementation and application of technologies. Particularly driven by 5G technology, numerous industries are undergoing profound transformations. 5G does not only accelerate technological advancement but also fosters cross-industry integration and collaborative innovation, giving rise to countless emerging business models and services while unlocking immense market potential. Together, these advancements propel the global economy toward greater efficiency and smarter development, creating more opportunities for growth.
Let us explore Tetsuya Yamamoto’s journey on innovation, a leading expert in cellular technology at Panasonic.
Yamamoto-san is a visionary innovator. As a key researcher in the Wireless Network Solutions Department of the Digital and AI Technology Center at Panasonic Holdings Corporation, he has made significant contributions during the standardization of 4G and 5G. His journey on innovation began during his time at Tohoku University in Japan, where he studied electrical, information, and communication engineering, and earned his Ph.D. in engineering in 2012. During his time at the university, he dedicated himself to investigating wireless signal processing for the realization of high-speed wireless networks in the laboratory, laying a solid foundation for his future innovation in wireless technologies.
Driven by the ambition to contribute to the next-generation mobile communication systems, Yamamoto joined Panasonic in 2013 when the LTE-Advanced standard was being standardized and the research and development for 5G was being initiated. At Panasonic, a globally renowned innovative company, he found a great platform to showcase his talents. He participated in a significant number of standardizations for the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). He contributed to the control and data channels for machine type communications (MTC) and narrow band IoT (NB-IoT) in Rel.13, worked on uplink channel technologies for 5G NR in Rel.14 and Rel.15, and dedicated his efforts to the development of ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) technology from Rel.15 to Rel.17.
One of the highlights is his involvement in the development of URLLC technology. This technology is crucial for emerging applications such as connected vehicles and remote driving. During the research and development of URLLC, Yamamoto-san and his team faced unprecedented challenges. Compared to 4G, URLLC must meet much stricter reliability and latency requirements. To overcome these technical bottlenecks, he adopted a systematic approach of innovation: first, he thoroughly analyzed the limitations of existing technologies like LTE, and then thought outside the box to find breakthroughs. Throughout this process, he placed significant emphasis on cross-department collaboration. By working closely with other departments at Panasonic, such as the automotive division, he gained a better understanding of the user scenarios and requirements. Additionally, he focused on quantitative evaluations and verifications to confirm the usefulness of the developed technologies.
This systematic approach to innovation has proven effective in other projects he has worked on as well. For example, in the development of MTC technology for the IoT, Yamamoto-san successfully developed a low-cost solution with stronger coverage capabilities by deeply understanding users’ needs. Currently, he is embarking on a challenging research and development focused on AI/ML for NR air interface, which is a pioneering initiative in 3GPP.
Panasonic deeply understands the significance of technology-sharing platforms. In the context of the automotive industry’s rapid transition toward intelligent connectivity, traditional automakers are often unfamiliar with standard-essential patents (SEPs). Companies like Panasonic, which are both patent holders and implementors, can leverage patent platforms to share their technologies and receive fair returns.
Technology-sharing platforms like Avanci play a critical role in this process. Avanci provides an efficient and transparent mechanism for licensing SEPs related to 4G and 5G, enabling patent holders to receive returns to their investments to R&D while allowing automakers easier access to advanced communication technologies. This subsequently accelerates the transformation of innovative achievements into market-ready products.
Meanwhile, by licensing its patents, Panasonic’s cellular technology R&D team gets reasonable returns that further fund the development of next-generation technologies. Through a cycle of investment, R&D, IP development/licensing and reinvestment in the next generation technology, Panasonic is able to continuously contribute to the advancement of technology.
Looking ahead, Yamamoto-san believed that connectivity technologies will fundamentally transform the automotive industry. Connectivity can enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications, which will bring connected cars revolutionary improvements in safety, convenience, and comfort. For example, by collecting and analyzing big data, traffic congestion prediction and intelligent navigation can be realized; seamless integration with home IoT systems can provide a completely new user experience; and the development of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving technologies will fundamentally change how people travel.
As a successful inventor, Yamamoto-san emphasized that the ultimate goal of technological innovation is to improve society as well as benefit humanity. He believed that great inventions often stem from a deep understanding of society’s real needs, rather than a blind pursuit of technology for its own sake. In the context of rapidly evolving mobile communication technologies and increasingly complex systems, innovators need to maintain an open mind, transcend industry boundaries, identify truly important issues, and develop solutions that can broadly serve humanity and the world.
Through his continuous and tireless efforts in innovation, Yamamoto-san exemplifies the vision of “making the world and society better through the evolution of communication technology.” True innovation does not only require solid expertise but also a heartfelt commitment to society and the well-being of humanity.