The intelligent world is rapidly approaching, presenting exciting opportunities and complex challenges for innovation. Huawei’s commitment to basic research, open innovation, and flexible business models is driving this evolution, bringing digital transformation to every person, home, and organization. This article explores Huawei’s key innovations in 2023, highlighting breakthroughs across various domains.
Basic Research: Pushing the Boundaries of Science
Huawei’s dedication to basic research fuels its innovation engine. In 2023, the focus remained on combining mathematics with modern information and communication technologies, resulting in significant breakthroughs:
Information Theory Coding: Huawei extended the classical fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm to Goppa codes, significantly reducing their complexity from O(n^2) to O(nlog n). This improvement has far-reaching implications for efficient data transmission and storage.
Machine Learning: A novel federated conformal prediction method based on quantile regression was developed. This addresses label shift between agents and provides theoretical guarantees for both valid prediction set coverage and differential privacy, enhancing the security and reliability of federated learning.
Large Language Model Training: CAME, a memory-efficient optimizer, was developed, consuming over 50% less memory than the Adam optimizer. This breakthrough, recognized as an ACL 2023 Outstanding Paper, facilitates the training of increasingly complex language models.
Huawei’s commitment to “laying eggs along the way” ensures that these research breakthroughs translate into tangible industry applications:
Wireless Communications: An energy-efficient low-order digital predistortion architecture was developed to improve the performance of wideband massive MIMO systems, achieving a 3–5 dB improvement in correction performance.
Optical Communications: A simplified nonlinear fiber compensation algorithm, based on perturbation theory, extended the transmission distance of 800 gigabit fiber by approximately 20%. Additionally, a metasurface-enabled light modulation model simplified wavelength selective switch (WSS) design by 50% to 75%.
Artificial Intelligence: Integral Neural Networks, featuring continuous layer representation, were introduced to address the computational demands of generative model training. These networks enable multi-process inference on a single XPU, significantly increasing efficiency.
Information Retrieval: A new method for approximating data distribution through function mapping enhances retrieval speed by an order of magnitude, enabling faster access to vast amounts of information.
Open Innovation: Collaborative Progress Across Multiple Domains
Huawei’s pursuit of open innovation spans multiple scenarios and technologies, fostering collaboration and driving industry-wide advancements:
Wireless Communications
- Field tests demonstrated the first zero-overhead integrated sensing and communication capabilities for 6G networks on the centimeter wave (cmWave) band. These tests achieved centimeter-level precision in multi-object detection and decimeter-level reconstruction of outdoor environments.
- Huawei achieved a peak speed of over 400 Gbit/s at a 500-meter outdoor distance on the terahertz band, verifying polarization multiplexing and beam spatial division multiplexing technologies.
- The company achieved 0.5 gigabit satellite communications based on cellular protocols at speeds of 130 km/h, demonstrating the potential for satellite-enhanced mobile networks.
Optical Networks
- Huawei achieved breakthroughs in 222 gigabaud optoelectronic modulator technology and proposed a new algorithm and architecture for improved coding modulation and power consumption.
- The company developed a new type of high-density multi-element doped optical fiber and commercially deployed EDFAs on an ultra-wide gain spectrum.
- A 400 gigabit QPSK system, delivering a capacity of 32T over 7,000 kilometers, was successfully tested and verified.
Carrier and Enterprise Networks
- A layered heterogeneous topology network architecture and full-path routing technology system reduced network costs to less than 20% of total costs and significantly improved network reliability.
- A global routing planning algorithm increased network throughput to over 90%.
- The world’s first non-uniform Bruck collective communications algorithm, offering 50% better performance than other industry algorithms, was developed.
AI Algorithms
- Ascend clusters trained trillions of parameters for Pangu foundation models, achieving near-linear scaling for 4,000 XPUs and addressing challenges in training, inference acceleration, and long sequences. This has led to significant improvements in user retention and enabled AI applications across various industries.
- Simplified network architectures optimized for Ascend, such as GhostNet v2 and VanillaNet, were released, boosting efficiency by at least 50%.
Computing
- A novel supernode architecture enabled unified memory addressing and resource scheduling for extreme-scale computing.
- A new liquid-cooling architecture reduced footprint while increasing computing power density.
- CANN 7.0 was released, providing an open framework for developers to customize high-performance operators and acceleration libraries.
- The Ascend C programming language was upgraded, simplifying operator implementation and accelerating AI development.
Consumer Business
- Advanced imaging technologies, including adjustable aperture and Super TeleMacro Camera, were introduced, enhancing user photography experiences.
- A cloud enhancement function, powered by on-cloud algorithms and foundation models, was launched, improving image detail and clarity.
- Network connectivity improvements ensured optimal network selection and better performance in weak-signal scenarios.
- A next-generation, double-rotating, multi-dimensional hinge design enhanced the durability and flexibility of foldable phones.
- Kunlun Glass, with improved drop and scratch resistance, was developed.
- The HongMeng Kernel received the industry’s first EAL6+ certificate, solidifying Huawei’s leadership in secure operating systems.
- HarmonyOS reached 800 million devices, demonstrating its widespread adoption.
- The AITO M7 achieved significant sales success, driven by Huawei’s proprietary GOD, RCR, and decision-making technologies.
Foundational Software
- GaussDB achieved full-stack hardware-software collaboration, enabling strong dual-cluster consistency, high elasticity, and full encryption.
- openEuler received updates for deterministic low latency, confidential computing, and hybrid deployment and scheduling, addressing key industrial requirements.
Software Engineering
Huawei developed an open source vulnerability knowledge library and advanced vulnerability detection technologies for C, C++, and Java projects, enhancing software supply chain security.
Systems Engineering
- A simulation testing capability for L3+ autonomous driving scenarios improved end-to-end testing efficiency by at least five times.
- Significant progress was made in out-of-ODD detection technology, achieving 92% accuracy in safe lane planning at intersections.
Conclusion: A Future Powered by Innovation
Huawei’s 2023 innovations demonstrate its commitment to pushing the boundaries of technology across a broad spectrum of domains. From fundamental research to applied technologies, these advancements pave the way for a fully connected, intelligent world. Huawei’s focus on open innovation and collaboration ensures that these benefits extend across the industry, driving progress and shaping the future of technology.
