ICETC 2024 (Kokura, Kitakyushu City)

The Communications Society of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE) holds the International Conference on Emerging Technologies for Communications (ICETC) every year. The fifth ICETC was held in Kokura, Kitakyushu, from November 25 to 27, 2024.

The venue is the Kitakyushu International Conference Center, about a 10-minute walk from Kokura Station, which is also a Shinkansen (Japan’s bullet train) stop. There was also a sign at Kokura Station welcoming the holding of ICETC.

The Kitakyushu International Conference Center, where ICETC was held, consists of two buildings connected by a walkway.

The conference consisted of a Keynote Session, an Invite Special Session, an Invite Session, an Oral Session, and a Poster Session. Of these, the Keynote Session and the Poster Session were held on a single track (a single session in one time slot), while the other sessions were held on multiple tracks. This is the venue where the Keynote Session was held.

Outside this large hall was the poster session venue. This poster session was held on all three days of the conference, with each session being assigned an hour and a half of presentation time. More than 30 poster presentations were given in each session.

I presented my own research results at the poster session on the third day. The design of this poster was reused from the one I presented recently at SmartCom 2024, with the content replaced with the one presented this time. There was a stable internet connection at the venue, so I also did a live demo.

The poster background was a photograph of the scenery overlooking the Seto Inland Sea from Onomichi of Hiroshima. I also observed other researchers’ poster presentations, and they were beautifully made, which was inspiring. I am grateful that a spacious venue was set up for many poster presentations.

I was inspired by listening to many research presentations on topics such as optical wireless converged networks, sixth-generation (6G) wireless simulation technology, high-speed IP networks, content-oriented networks, the use of AI for satellite positioning, and dynamic projection mapping.

On the second night of the conference, a social gathering was held at the Rihga Royal Hotel Kokura, located near the conference venue. Over 200 people attended the social gathering, which was a great success.

Kokura is close to Hiroshima where I live, so I didn’t have enough time to take a walk around the venue like I usually do.

At Kokura Station, there was a display of characters from the famous Japanese animation “Galaxy Express 999.” This bench was very popular and there was always someone sitting on it.

Immediately after leaving Kokura Station, there is Asano Shiokaze (morning seabreeze) Park and the ferry terminal for Shikoku Matsuyama.

If I have the opportunity, I would like to take a leisurely stroll around the city of Kokura, including Kokura Castle.