Tag: Comsoc

APCC 2012, Korea

2012-10-23 / Kuncoro Wastuwibowo / 0 Comments

The twin conference IEEE Comnetsat and IEEE Cyberneticscom in Bali last July, apparently leaving continuing effects. While the organisers evaluated that everything is far from perfect, the two keynote speakers might have different impression. Dr Ford said that Prof. Lightner (President of the IEEE, 2006) at a meeting in Hong Kong praised the twin conference as fully IEEE compliant, including small things like the visual designs; then suggested Indonesia to submit a proposal to host the IEEE TALE conference in 2013. Prof. Byeong Gi Lee (President of IEEE Comsoc, 2010-2011), in a communication after the Comnetsat, also encouraged Indonesia to host APCC 2013. Prof Lee himself is the General Chair for APCC 2012. Then we were invited to submit proposals, at APCC 2012. Prof Lee are extremely intelligent and gentle, but firm. So albeit his tone soft, we interpreted his message as a command.

APCC, Asia-Pacific Conference on Communications, is a very prestigious regional conference in one of the regions with the highest growth in the IT world. For the international level, the IEEE Comsoc has ICC and Globecom. For the general technical issues, the IEEE Region 10 Asia Pacific has IEEE Tencon (hosted by Indonesia in 2010). APCC is like a slice for both. However, due to its specific field, personal and professional relationships among its Steering Committee (ASC) are very closed. APCC, besides sponsored by IEEE Comsoc, also supported by the KICS in Korea, IEICE in Japan, and the CIC in China. APCC was first held in 1993 in Taejon, Korea. The 18th APCC is conducted this year in Korea too, but in Jeju Island.

Comsoc Indonesia (Indonesia IEEE Communications Society Chapter) has started the plan. Assessments has been conducted since Ramadan this year. But Comsoc officers in Indonesia are small and very busy. So we just made a brief proposal; expecting that we will have the opportunity to discuss with the ASC about it. After some discussions, Indonesia will send, as delegation to APCC 2012: me (as Past Chair Comsoc Indonesia), M Ary Murti (IEEE Indonesia as Chair, but indeed also a Past-Past Chair of Comsoc Indonesia), and Agnes Irwanti (Secretary of Comsoc Indonesia).

I departed from Jakarta on October 13 evening, had flight with Garuda Indonesia, and arrived at Incheon October 14. At Incheon, I joined Ary and Agnes. We had a small visit to Seoul, followed by Korean Air flight from Incheon to Jeju. Jeju is an island located in the south of the Korean Peninsula.

APCC 2012 commenced on 15th morning. Opening was conducted by by Prof. Jinwoo Park, President of KICS; Prof. Byeong G Lee, from IEEE; then Prof. Yang Zhen, Vice Chair of the CIC. Plenary session was presented by Prof. Tomonori Aoyama, who is also one of the pioneers APCC, with the theme New Generation Networking (NWGN) and Inter-Cloud Computing to Handle Big Data. NWGN, also called Future Internet, is not just a development of TCP/IP suit, but a design of new network architectures that might be based on Post-IP Network.

Break, we took pictures with some of the participants from Indonesia, who are students in Korea and Japan.

After the break, the ASC held a separate session, to discuss the organising of the APCC. Included is a discussion of the next APCC host. So the we joined the ASC meeting. The meeting occupied a seminar room; attended by the members of the ASC, the titan in Communications Technology. Beside them, the delegations from Indonesia and Thailand also attended the meeting to bid for the next host. Thailand performed first, with excellent presentation, detail, and supplemented with some souvenirs from their country. Presentation of the Indonesian delegation was presented clumsy Koen.

I had only a simple presentation, but I put the focus on the selection of the theme, time, and the situations. I guess both delegations could show good plans and commitments. Soon, we were asked to leave.

About fifteen minutes later, we were asked to enter the meeting room. The ASC had decided to choose Indonesia as the host for APCC 2013, with Comsoc Indonesia as the organiser. We were also asked to give a short speech at the banquet the next day.

On 16 morning, I still attended the Plenary Session. Prof. Zhisheng Niu discussed the theme of Rethinking Cellular Networks – A Novel Hyper-Cellular Architecture for Green and Smart ICT. Then I just realised that I was a bit tired. We took time to freshen up with a walk to the beach just about the hotel.

That night, we were invited to attend the Banquet of APCC. As the next host in 2013, we were asked to sit at one of the VIP tables. Of course in such events, toasts were so routine. Kempai! But they provided a bottle of Coca Cola for people like us who does not drink alcohol. I asked Mme Agnes to represent us giving a speech about APCC 2013. Some VIP also came to our table, discussing the next plan for APCC 2013.

The next morning, I woke up very early, and ran away from the hotel. I found almost no taxi in Jeju that early. But there was a Korean asked me to join him with a cab to the airport. From Jeju Airport, Korean Air flew me to Gimpo within 1 hour. After a brisk walk about 500 meters, I got into Arex (Airport Express). Arex is a train connecting Gimpo to Incheon, in about 40 minutes. At Incheon, I simply checked in on Garuda, walked fast immigration desk, walked faster to the connecting station, and got by Gate 107 when the passengers started boarding.

Seven hours later, I’ve arrived in Jakarta.

Tencon 2011 in Bali

2011-11-24 / Kuncoro Wastuwibowo / 1 Comment

Last week, Indonesia hosted some regional events: SEA Games, ASEAN Blogger Conference, ASEAN Summit. These days, the IEEE Region 10 (Asia Pacific) carries out its official annual conference IEEE TENCON on Sanur Beach, Bali. This conference has been prepared since a couple years ago, starting by submitting the proposal from Indonesia to the IEEE Region 10, bidding, recording in the IEEE, and the processes that include the calls for papers, paper reviews, event planning, and event organising. The whole process has involved senior academics in various parts of the earth. The event is organised by the IEEE Indonesia Section and University of Indonesia. Two IEEE society chapters are also involved as technical sponsors: the Comsoc Chapter and the MTT / AP Joint Chapter. Since the event is held Denpasar, Udayana University sends some volunteers to support the conference. Busy days :).

I jumped from Jakarta to Denpasar last Sunday. I saw the valley in the vicinity of Mount Ijen, Bali Strait, 10 minutes southwest coast of sunny, clear, sloping, sandy white, soft, and wavy beaches, and then finally the Ngurah Rai airport. Apparently ASEAN Summit still left some activities, so we had to revolve around Bali’s southeast coast for 40 minutes before landing. Then travel overland to Sanur Beach: Inna Bali Beach Hotel.

Unlike 2009, this year I can not seem up to enjoy the magnificent nature and culture of Bali. Representing IEEE Comsoc Indonesia Chapter, I had to prepare a tutorial session, then assist the event organising. Even today! 🙂

The tutorial was held on Monday, November 21 at 10:00 sharp. Prof Dadang Gunawan opened the session; then I took over to deliver a lecture on Digital TV and IPTV. My presentation focused on the network architecture, standards, how-it-works, services and content, and to the issues of convergence. Quite a lot, considering the time the tutorial was quite long. The next tutorial session was then filled by Mr Satrio Dharmanto Ms Agnes Irwanti, with emphasis on migration into DigitalTV.

The conference was officially commenced on 22 November. As the organising chair, Dr. Wahidin Wahab open the conference with his typical fun and exciting speech. The plenary session was then filled by four keynote speakers, with two moderated by Mr. Arnold Djiwatampu (himself the general chair of the event), and two by me.

The theme of the keynote speakers were very interesting. Prof. Nurul Sarkar discussed a breakthrough in engineering education strategies. Prof. Ke Wu explored IC Substrate (SICS) that are applied for future electronics and photonics in GHz and THz scale. Prof. Rinaldy Damini detailed energy scenarios taken by various countries after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. And Prof. Jong-Hwan Kim explained and demonstrated the robot-that-thinks (RTT). More than that implied by the titles, each presentation provided interesting inspirations. Prof. Ke Wu, for example, explained by pictures the history of waveguides: metals, coax, intrachip waveguide, etc. Meanwhile, Prof. Kim, who is also called the Father of Robot Football, explained the philosophical level of how the minds are recomposed by contextual info, fuzzy logic, and social intelligence.

After the photo session, the conference was splitted into seven rooms, each with its specific focus. I chose Room 5, which is focusing on the architecture, traffic, and other aspects of the wireline and wireless networks. In Room 5, dozens of papers are presented in several sessions from Tuesday to Thursday (today). Each presentation sets out in 20 minutes, followed by questions and answers. The theme is no longer a matter of philosophy or research direction, but instead the details of research results. The presenters are researchers, engineers, geeks, etc, so you can imagine how their presentations are. Just totally like me 😀

There was a dinner session, for networking while observing a small part of Balinese culture. There were a couple minutes (only) to walk to the Sanur beach not far from the hotel. But the rest are continuous controlling on the event.

Hopefully IEEE Tencon will result well, improving the good reputation for Indonesia that is capable to organise an international academic event almost with no sponsor, improving the interests for the Indonesian academics and engineers to consistently do the researches, and transforming Indonesia to be a respected technology innovation and development country.

The next Tencon will be carried out in Cebu and Mactan islands in the central part of the Philippines. See you next year in Lapu-Lapu city!

Kyoto: Comsoc AP-RCCC

2011-06-19 / Kuncoro Wastuwibowo / 4 Comments

This year the IEEE carried out the annual ICC conference in Kyoto, Japan. As usual, this greatest infocomm conference is accompanied by a couple of technical and organizational meetings, held by the IEEE or IEEE Comsoc. Representing the IEEE Comsoc Indonesia Chapter, I had to be present in Comsoc AP-RCCC. I got the invitation on April, so I had enough time to renew my passport, prepared the visa, airline tickets, hotels, etc. However, these are also the busiest month here at Multimedia Division of Telkom. I could not find enough spare time to relearn hiragana, katakana, kanji, and basic Japanese expressions, or to prepare the social visits.

I got the most affordable airline. It took me from Jakarta to Tokyo via Kualalumpur, and landed at Haneda Airport around midnight. I took the first Shinkanzen super-express train from Shinagawa to Kyoto. I reached Kyoto on June 8th at 9 o’clock. After reporting my attendance to the organiser, I took a couple hours to explore Kyoto.

ICC and the other meetings were held at KICC, a quite vast resort in north-east end of Kyoto. Apparently this place is well prepared to carried out international scale conferences and summits. I did not attend any ICC sessions more than some workshop sessions. But the AP-RCCC I attended was held in the same place.

Last March we had conducted the IEEE Region 10 Meeting in Yogyakarta, which was the highest annual organizational meeting of the IEEE in the Asia Pacific region. IEEE Comsoc AP-RCCC is the annual organizational conference of the IEEE Communications Society in the region. Focusing on the issues in Asia Pacific region, the meeting was attended by President of the IEEE Communications Society, the VPs and directors, a representative of both North America and South America, and the chairmen or other representatives of the Asia-Pacific Comsoc chapters.

Comsoc President, Byeong Gi Lee, keynoted by describing the current challenges in the field of communications field. The convergence has been passing some stages in the digital information, and now we are in the middle of the convergence of digital services and management. The convergence is not just among the fields of communications and computing, but extends also to consumer electronics, media, and other areas. Comsoc has anticipated this with various approaches: educational approach and content, industrial approach, and the standardization approach. This is also trailed by restructuring the organization of IEEE Comsoc. Various aspects relating to further convergence has sparked fairly interesting discussions.

Then, some VPs and directors presented some reports and guidances. And each chapters presented their reports, plan activities, and other things. The first chapter to deliver the report is Indonesia. From Indonesia, I delivered a report, exploring the chapter’s activities that are still focused on technical and organizational campaigns, including our supports in the formation of the first four IEEE student branches in Indonesia, serial roadshows, and other approaches. Our plan ahead includes the preparation of a larger conference (more than the current form of thematic seminars or lecturing). However, it would require assistance and support from the Region 10 and neighbouring chapters. Also presented are the preparation of TENCON in Bali in November 2011, and our request for distinguished lecturer & distinguished speakers on recent progress in the field of infocomm. Some officers expressed their support for IEEE Comsoc activities in Indonesia.

After the conference, I returned to the Kyoto centre by the MRT with Prof. Hsiao-Hwa Chen of IEEE Comsoc Tainan Chapter. I know this gentlemen even before the conference. Last year we made some correspondence to arrange a seminar in Singapore. But in MRT, he showed his other side: an avid culture observer. After talking about chapter management and infocom platform management, we spent the time to talk about the history of Japan, Kyoto, etc. He suggested me to spend more days to explore Japanese cities and cultural centres.

So the next day I spent my time to pay a visit to historic areas: Nara (the first capital of Japan as an emerging imperial), Kyoto (the capital of Japanese Imperial for 1000 years), before finally returned to Tokyo (the capital of Japan since the Meiji Restoration). In Kyoto, I got the opportunity to visit the Imperial Palace for about 1 hour. An excellent palace, I must admit. Also I visited Tokugawa shogunate palace.

I know I should now spend more time to report my cultural journeys. Indeed I have written them in my travelling blog, koen.cc, but only in Indonesian. I guess I will someday translate them and put them here.

IEEE Seminar on Digital TV

2010-01-23 / Kuncoro Wastuwibowo / 0 Comments

This year IEEE Indonesia Section and its chapters plan to intensify seminars & lecturing in several cities in Indonesia. Since last year, its Communication Society (Comsoc) Chapter had conducted a seminar series on 4G Mobile Technology. While still running it, now we start another series in parallel (series in parallel, haha). So today we carry out a seminar in the new series: Digital TV. As the previous series, this one also commenced in Bandung; this time in the Hotel Nalendra, Cihampelas.

The seminar is still going on now. It is amazing to see the participants who attend the seminar today. From Mrs. Kusmarihati of Mastel (previously, she was Telkom’s Director of Development, CEO of Telkomsel, and Chairperson of BRTI), some Heads of Department and officials from Universities (Universitas Hasanuddin, Universitas Ahmad Yani, Maranatha University, ITENAS, IT Telkom), the representatives of the operators & providers (Telkom, XL Axiata, DAAITV, Nasio), and several other professionals. Heavy enough:).

The materials in this seminar:

Muhammad Ary Murti, IEEE as a Professional Organization
Arief Hamdani Gunawan, Digital TV & IPTV Network
Kuncoro Wastuwibowo, Video Coding, Compression, & Formats
Prasetya Irwan Gunawan, Quality of Service & Quality of Experience
Satrio Dharmanto, IPTV Implementation in Several Countries

I guess it is because of the weather of Bandung, with a combination of warm sunshine over chilly air, the discussion took place very warm. Or hot. We were not only arguing about business implementations and engineering decisions, but also the decision to select some mathematical formula. Why do we use DCT instead DFFT? Haha. Funnily I had an answer for that one :D.

This seminar is also supported by Multikom as a sponsor. Next Digital TV discussion will be delivered in the form of lecturing at Bina Nusantara University next weekend.