We live in the Information Age where knowledge is readily available with the touch of a few keystrokes. One can never hope to absorb all this information even given a countless number of lifetimes. The challenge is to see who can ferret out the latest trends, formulate a team to create the products and get them to market as fast as possible. During the period of September 28-30, the International Symposium on Communication and Information Technology (ISCIT) will take place at the Songdo Convensia in Incheon concurrently with Global Fair & Festival 2009 Incheon, Korea.
Under the technical sponsorship of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the city of Incheon, ISCIT will provide a valuable platform for industry and academia to gather and exchange information and forge relationships with one another. Professor Kwak Kyung-sup of the Graduate School of IT and Telecommunications at Inha University was appointed as Chairman of the ISCIT Organization Committee this year and said, "The purposes of ISCIT 2009 are narrowed down to three: Reveal IT, experience a u-City, and build networks or partnerships. Korea is on the front line of the u-City realization. By introducing the reality of a u-City at the Incheon Free Economic Zone and exchanging the knowledge of recent studies, further collaboration with Hungary, Japan, Denmark, and especially the rest of Europe is expected to be made. The symposium is the site where different countries gather to present their newest discoveries. Some will participate to exchange the information, but some may come to use this as a business opportunity. ISCIT 2009 has a lot to offer."
What's different this year
The significance of this year's symposium is in the special sessions. The topics including u-ITS, u-City, u-Home, u-Health (WBAN), WPAN, Cognitive Radio, RFID/USN, and IP-TV will make the symposium worth a visit. Here the latest studies will be presented to envision a future. "A capsule endoscope or wireless endoscope is now allowed, wireless home theater system is emerging, and the Intelligent Transportation System now communicates with a device to show the front and back of the driver's traffic situation. These are only a few of the things that will be presented at the special sessions," said chairman Kwak. World-renowned speakers are expected to come and participate this year as well. Director Ramjee Prasad of Aalborg University from Denmark, Professor Ryuji Kohno of Yokohama National University from Japan, Director Ramesh R. Rao of California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology from USA, Professor Alok Barua of Indian Institute of Technology from India, and Professor Shoji Shindoda of Chuo University from Japan are all expected to bring their best to the symposium.
Paper Presentations
The eight topic areas to be presented at ISCIT are: signal processing, communication systems & networks, circuit & systems, computer & information, Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI), information technology, industrial application, and new emerging fusion technology. A total of 384 papers are going to be presented throughout the symposium with 192 Presentations per Day Program. Fifteen minute presentation and five minute question and answer session programs will take place in nine different rooms holding 20 presentations each. Special sessions are scheduled to fit 12 presentations per day in a single room for two consecutive days with 25 minute presentations and 5 minute Q and A sessions. "The papers that are presented at the ISCIT have been gaining global recognition by being published at Xplore, the IEEE publication Database. I believe that this year's conference proceedings will also put many studies in the spotlight," said Director Kwak Kyung-sup of UWB Wireless Communications Research Center.
A thousand visitors from 30 countries
The top IT experts, researchers, professors, entrepreneurs, and students from 30 countries will all gather at the ISCIT 2009 at Songdo Convensia in September. "By sharing information and forging relationships, the symposium may provide business opportunities or suggest international collaborations," said Professor Kwak.
Inha UWB Wireless Communications Research Center is a one of a kind laboratory that is currently working on the development of ultra wideband (UWB) wireless technology. "What Korea needs now is the establishment of an eight-lane highway for data to travel wirelessly. Korea has been doing a fantastic job of generalizing high speed internet. But the trend suggests that home theater systems, u-healthy devices, and even intelligent transportation systems are all going wireless. RFID tags are at a high cost, yet errors occur when a large quantity of boxed products pass through the reader. While the current internet cable can transfer data up to terra gigabits per second, the wireless speed only reaches up to 54 megabits per second. In order to backup the wireless trend, we must go for ultra wideband," said Director Kwak Kyung-sup of UWB Wireless Communications Research Center.
In the near future when the digital home is common, people will be sharing huge amounts of data, video, music and photos among networked consumer electronics, PCs, and mobile devices throughout the home and even remotely. Brothers and sisters will be able to stream video content from electronic devices such as camcorders and DVD players to HDTV displays on the walls without using any wired networks.
Inha UWB Center, which opened in November 2003, has shown a great deal of success in coming up with excellent studies on UWB wireless technology. It has seen 19 papers carried in the world-famous Science Citation Index last year alone. Over five years, the number of papers, handed in at home and abroad, has reached 495. Since its debut, it has recorded 30 patent applications and 8 registrations, including 8 international patent applications. It has also come up with 89 test products as a result of collaborations with business and industry. Most remarkable is that it has transferred 11 cases of technologies to businesses and has helped companies overcome their limits in terms of technologies in 79 cases.
Inha's global recognition brought many co-partners from all around the world. Among them were University of South California in USA, Simon Frazer University in Canada and Wudian University in China. This year Inha UWB Wireless Communications Research Center is focusing on three major subjects: Secured UWB wireless for automobiles, Commercialization of WBAN transmitting & MAC technology, and development of UWB/mm-wave transmitting technology. "The center was designed to lead the technology in UWB and to enhance the competence in the UWB wars ahead," said Kwak. "UWB wireless communications will soon be realized in homes and offices," he continued, "All devices will be connected on the platform of UWB." UWB wireless communications will indeed become essential in the ubiquitous society. Inha's frontier research, therefore, brings forth great expectations.
