Panel Discussion:
Electricity, Lifestyles, and Networks ― Tokyo Electric Power Company's "Visualization" Concept and the Potential for Constructing New Information Networks

Many network implementation issues must be resolved before benefits of "visualization" can be obtained, including finding semiconductor technologies that will accelerate broad commercialization.

It's interesting and important to consider the various factors impacting the future networks needed to enhance our lifestyles and make them safer. The Technical Service Group in the Marketing Department of the Sales and Marketing Division of Tokyo Electric Power Company has been researching this subject. One theme of their research has involved a collaboration between industry and academia under the title, "Electricity and Lifestyle Design." To gain insights into this work, EDGE brought together key project participants and asked them to comment on networking concepts and their vision for the years ahead. The group discussed "visualization" ― that is, ways to make visible various types of information relating to energy consumption. They talked about bi-directional communication methods for making use of this information, too, among other issues.

EDGE: Bearing in mind environmental considerations such as global warming and the effective use of resources, what scenarios are foreseen for making lifestyles better and more secure in the future?

Mr. Ito: The work of a power company covers a wide range of matters, extending from power stations through to the points of the distribution system that connect to user sites. The role of our Technical Services Group is to provide consulting services to customers regarding maintenance of their electrical equipment and its ease of use. For example, we provide a 24-hour call-out service to customers who suffer power outages in their homes. Our work, including our day-to-day research activities, aims to construct infrastructure and provide various other services in ways that allow us to be more closely involved in people's daily activities. This approach allows us to obtain a more realistic understanding of their requirements.

Mr. Ogawa: Of course, we cannot build the network, public access points, and other elements of the infrastructure all on our own. Further, it would be unbalanced to undertake this task based only on proposals from the corporate sector. Thus we are working on a wide range of research activities that are investigating safer and more secure lifestyle scenarios and enhanced ways of living. This ongoing research work is a collaboration between industry and academia, including equipment manufacturers, schools (universities), consulting companies, and so on.

For example, we are teaming with the Kanazawa College of Art on a key research topic called "Electricity and Lifestyle Design." Whereas in the past we may have invited cooperation from technically oriented universities, in this work we hope to produce concepts and specific designs using cross sections and perspectives with different sensibilities. We are striving to come up with new ideas through an inter-disciplinary exchange of views.

EDGE: What activities does the topic, "Electricity and Lifestyle Design," actually involve?

Mr. Ito: One part of the "Electricity and Lifestyle Design" research, entitled "Electric Power Visualization Using Home Electrical Systems," looks ahead five years or so. It aims to predict possible lifestyles in the coming years by analyzing the current public infrastructure and situations, as well as possible future scenarios.

Mr. Ogawa: We are considering many different approaches that take into account the environment. One main area of focus, though, is the need to foster energy conservation by changing the attitudes and behavior of individual consumers of electricity. "Visualization" ― making electricity visible ― is a key concept that Tokyo Electric Power Company envisions for making progress in this area. It could be implemented using a future information network, like the concept illustrated in Figure 1.

If households are environmentally aware, then we should be able to get major benefits if we can make it easy for people to see realities such as how much electricity they are using. This type of information would lead them to take direct actions such as turning off unused electronic equipment and adjusting the temperature settings of air conditioners or heaters, for instance.

Moreover, as Mr. Yamada of Sprint Capital Japan, who is working with us on this research has said, realizing "visualization" will require the use of networking to ― among other things ― control equipment and transfer information relating to all different forms of energy, not just electricity. (See related article, "Visualization" Made Possible by the Networking of Energy-Related Information Will Lead to a Paradigm Shift Amongst Consumers.")

For example, intelligent meters will be used as a point of contact for energy services in the future. I believe that it will be necessary to build bi-directional networks in which the AMI (Advanced Meter Infrastructure) uses intelligent meters as a hub in HANs (Home Area Networks). With this implementation, the AMI can act as a gateway that links the household and electricity company.

Applying "visualization" ― a concept for encouraging energy conservation envisioned by Tokyo Electric Power Company

Mr. Ito: I expect that once bi-directional networks are in place they will lead to the construction of new information networks and the delivery of new services. I would like to hear what ideas each of you have about these subjects.

Chancellor Kuze: Our current research is acting as a liaison between industry and academia and I have high expectations for this work. One idea that has been formulated is that new services will used locally, based on information networks implemented for "visualization." In this concept, regional communication is encouraged by information being transmitted and used locally.

Prof. Murai: Taking advantage of the fact that our institution is an art university, we are working on designs that envisage moving from specific usage scenarios, then to business models, and from there to commercial products. In particular, I believe our challenge lies in determining what sort of information and other content we can generate and represent in the new information networks that will result from electricity "visualization."

Mr. Ogawa: Of course, many types of information networks are already in place, including optical fiber, CATV and other fixed-line communications, as well as mobile phones and other wireless communication services. However, numerous issues have to be faced in order to implement ideas related to electricity "visualization." For example, would it be better to build our own network or to use one or more of the existing networks?

Whatever approach is taken, though, an open architecture must be used, for various reasons. An open architecture will ensure that the network can be extended and enlarged, protect it from becoming technically obsolete, and provide ease of use. It will also ensure that the network won't be cluttered by a proliferation of different standards.

Mr. Kuse: The design of infrastructure businesses that incorporate networks has great significance. This is a very important consideration as we move forward. That is, putting people at the center and proceeding with the design on the basis of what can be expressed using the network in terms of people's lifestyles from such an essential thing as electricity.

We have to remember that a primary goal here isn't to create something that is interesting or tidy. Instead, we must produce business models that will take advantage of the network, and in the process create added value that will make users happy.

Determining what "visualization" information should be displayed and how to best present it

EDGE: Has the research produced any specific results yet?

Mr. Ito: As has already been mentioned, there are many issues to consider in the construction of an information network for implementing "virtualization." Fortunately, homes and households have a comparatively high degree of flexibility, which makes them easy environments to deal with.

Prof. Murai: One design consideration is that the method used to display electricity usage in the home should blend into the domestic scene. In fact, it should function as part of the home's interior design.

Mr. Kuse: A main candidate for presenting electricity "visualization" information in the home is a TV or similar display unit. However, this choice raises various questions, such as which how to collect the information, where to locate the display, and how to best present the data.

Bear in mind that the information content is likely to be complex. Besides electricity usage, billing details, and similar data, it may also include information relating to other utilities such as gas and water, plus content from new services such as the regional communications mentioned earlier. Yet, despite this complexity, it will be important to find ways to present the information so that the data are easy to comprehend and will hold the user's interest.

Examining issues related to the infrastructure that implements the "visualization" concept

Mr. Ogawa: One area of the research currently underway relates to general safety and focuses on situations that can occur when an earthquake strikes. During the shaking, for example, flammable material such as cloth or paper could fall onto an electric heater. Can something be done to prevent a fire from starting?

A specific development project we are working on to deal with this type of risk is "Gratto Shut." Roughly translated, Gratto Shut means to shut down when the vibration of an earthquake is detected. Safety can be enhanced if power is turned off when an earthquake occurs. (See associated story, The "Gratto Shut" System, built with ZigBee Modules, Provides Safety and Reassurance for Electricity Users by Preventing Secondary Damage after Earthquakes.)

I believe that the Tokyo Electric Power Company's Gratto Shut* system, which uses ZigBee technology, may act as a catalyst for installing the household sensor networks that are one option for implementing energy "visualization." After a sensor network is installed in a residence, it provides multiple capabilities and offers numerous benefits. For instance, it can record whether or not anyone was in the home just prior to a disaster. Obviously, this information would be vital to rescuers if the home had collapsed.

We are investigating many issues relating to collecting this type of data. Our work is considering diverse aspects of the matter, up to and including how the information should be handled and used, and by whom.

EDGE: What other advantages can be obtained if energy "visualization" information networks are put in place? How realistic are they?

Mr. Ito: If households can communicate bi-directionally with the outside world, it's possible to monitor continuously the status of the equipment in the home, such as whether a power failure or earth leakage has occurred. Also, if a network to the residence were designed to allow various activities to be controlled externally, then the result would be more convenience and greater efficiency.

As it is now, many aspects of services delivered to a home, such as to the contracted capacity, cannot be changed unless on-site work is performed. Thus they are currently restricted time-wise. With external control via the network, they could be adjusted whenever desired.

Mr. Ogawa: The network standards being established for home networks include the wireless ZigBee standard and the PLC (Power Line Communication) standard for communication via power cabling. For example, ZigBee has attracted interest as an international open architecture with a high level of compatibility and a data capacity that makes it a good fit for equipment control applications.

The "Gratto Shut" system mentioned earlier is an example of a product that utilizes the advantages provided by ZigBee wireless networking technology. The issues for the future will include the network outside the home, the construction of public infrastructure, and the provision of services that use this infrastructure. We are getting ready to deal with these and other issues by also keeping abreast of developments taking place outside of Japan.

When considering something as large, complex and important and as any public infrastructure, including networks, the discussion extends well beyond our own department. It's essential to realize that once the creation of the new public infrastructure has begun and network usage commences in earnest, and there will be no easy way to change course. Therefore, we must proceed prudently and find in advance an effective approach that can endure.

Mr. Ogaki: Although I only attended the "Electricity and Lifestyle Design" research presentation as a guest, I was very impressed by the information offered. The ideas and design concepts described were both enlightening and thought provoking. They will be very useful in planning future semiconductor technology development at Renesas. And for those activities to be successful, we too must proceed prudently.

I hope to be able to participate in the group's next research presentation. Renesas supports a range of different network technologies that are applicable to the implementation of the energy "virtualization" concept, as well as other efforts to enhance the quality and security of life for people around the world. Our company has world-class capabilities many areas ― Ethernet, ZigBee, PLC (Power Line Communication), wireless LAN, RFID (Radio Frequency-Identification), and more ― in the form of modules and LSI devices, particularly advanced microcomputers.

Considering the ideas relating to the "Electricity and Lifestyle Design" research that were discussed, I expect that some of them could be implemented straight away. However, it's vital for Renesas to determine how to best convert the results of the collaborative research into optimized semiconductor devices. Then, we must determine how to supply these devices as solutions that meet market needs. Our company aims to contribute to progress in this field by achieving lower costs and by developing compact hardware that integrates multiple functions that perform well and are very reliable.

Mr. Ogawa: I look forward to seeing Renesas move at an early stage to achieve advances in its semiconductors that align with the ideas and concept designs we have mentioned ― and others yet to be unveiled. We want to work with a span of industry leaders, from chipmakers to equipment manufacturers. An overall goal is to ensure that the best possible hardware and solutions become readily available and widely adopted, so that maximum benefits accrue to society.

EDGE: Thank you all for your participation today.

* Gratto Shut is a registered trademark of Tokyo Electric Power Company (application pending).

The diverse research work being directed by the Technical Service Group in the Marketing Department of the Sales and Marketing Division of Tokyo Electric Power Company is not restricted just to equipment manufacturers. Instead, its participants include staff from universities, consultancies, design companies, and elsewhere (see Figure 2).

On June 25, 2008, the company held a research presentation in association with the Kanazawa College of Art entitled "Electricity and Lifestyle Design ― Electric Power Visualization Using Home Electrical Systems." This is one of the research projects that look to the future to consider safe and secure lifestyle scenarios for users of electricity.

The Kanazawa College of Art, whose focus is in design, is a participant in this research project. One reason that this institution was selected is that it isn't a university that specializes in technology. Therefore it has a broad academic perspective that can facilitate an inter-disciplinary idea exchange and thus help produce concepts reflective of a completely different outlook.

Renesas was invited as a guest to the research presentation to help encourage product development and also to jump-start proposals for solutions that take into account the overall concepts and systems issues encompassed by this research.