Historicalevolution
OnJanuary1,1925,whenAT&Tpresident,WalterGifford(WalterGifford)acquiredtheresearchdepartmentofWesternElectronicsCorporation,acompanycalledAnindependententityof"BellTelephoneLaboratories,"laterrenamedBellLaboratories.AT&TandWesternElectronicseachown50%ofthecompany.Inthe1920sand1930s,BellLabsresearchersintroducedlong-distancetelevisiontransmissionanddigitalcomputers,leadingthedevelopmentofsoundfilmsandartificialthroats.Twoimportantinventionsoftheinformationage-transistorandinformationtheorywereallresearchedbyBellLabsinthe1940s.ThemajorinventionsofBellLabsinthe1950sand1960sincludedsolarcells,thetheoryoflasers,andcommunicationsatellites.
After1984,inaccordancewiththeUSgovernment'sagreementtospinoffAT&T,BellcorewasestablishedfromBellLabs.BellcoreprovidesunifiedresearchanddevelopmentservicesforaseriesofsmallBellcompaniesafterthespin-off.
In1996,BellLabsandAT&T'sequipmentmanufacturingdepartmentseparatedfromAT&TandbecameLucentTechnologies.AT&Tretainedasmallnumberofresearcherstoestablishitsresearchorganization-AT&TLabs.BellLabsisnowtheresearchanddevelopmentdepartmentofLucentTechnologies,anditsmissionistoprovidetechnologytocreatethemostadvancedtelecommunicationssystemintheworld.Sinceitsestablishment,BellLabshasissuedmorethan27,000patents,withanaverageof4patentsissuedeveryworkingday.
OnAugust7,2008,asitsownerAlcatel-Lucentmadealossfor6consecutivequarters,ithasnevermadeaprofitsincethemergerofAlcatelandLucentTechnologies,anditsmarketvaluehasevaporatedby62%.Alcatel-LucentHadtosellthe46-year-oldBellLabsbuilding,whichwaspurchasedbytheSomersetRealEstateDevelopmentCompanyofNewJersey,USA,andplannedtoconvertitintoashoppingmallandresidentialbuilding.
In2016,NokiaacquiredAlcatel-Lucent,therebyacquiringBellLabs.
Institutionalsetting
TheworkofBellLabscanberoughlydividedintothreecategories:basicresearch,systemengineeringandapplicationdevelopment.Inbasicresearch,heismainlyengagedinthebasictheoreticalresearchoftelecommunicationstechnology,includingmathematics,physics,materialscience,behavioralscienceandcomputerprogrammingtheory.Systemengineeringmainlystudiesthehighlycomplexsystemsthatconstitutetelecommunicationnetworks.ThedevelopmentdepartmentisthelargestdepartmentofBellLabsandisresponsiblefordesigningtheequipmentandsoftwarethatmakeuptheBellSystemtelecommunicationsnetwork.
BellLaboratoriesisoneofthefewR&Dinstitutionsintheindustry.TheRinR&Dreferstobasicresearch,andDisdevelopment.TheratioofRandDatBellLabsis1:10.ThisisverydifferentfromMicrosoftResearch.Microsoftisdoingpuretechnologyresearch,whileBellLabshasbothbasicresearchandproductdevelopment,aswellasappliedresearchafterbasicresearch.TheresearchanddevelopmentofBellLabsisdividedintothreestages:oneisBellLabs'owninventionorinnovation,andtheotheristoevolveandupdateitsownproducts.TheotheristoabsorbnewtechnologiesandnewproductsthroughmergersandacquisitionsinEuropeandotherregions.
Ifalargecompanyonlydoesdevelopment,itisarelativelyshort-termbehavior.Fromalong-termperspective,technologydevelopsveryfast.Althoughwecan’tsaywhatwillhappenintenyears,atleastwehavetoseethreeorfiveyearslater.Ifthereisnotheoreticalexperienceofbasicresearch,ordirectionalknowledge,theplanningislikewaterwithoutasource.ButdoingRandDcan'tturnthecartbeforethehorse.Youcan'twritepapersallthetime,andyoucan'tgetaproduct.Ifthereisnoproduct,therewillbenobenefit,noprofit,andnoresearch.
Asahigh-techcompany,Lucentisfullyawareoftheneedtoinvestinbothbasicresearchandproductdevelopment.Lucenthasalwaysused11%to12%ofitsannualsalesasBellLabsR&Dfunding,about40%.OnehundredmillionU.S.dollars.BellLabshas28,000people,ofwhichlessthan3,000aredoingbasicresearch,andtherestaredoingproductdevelopment.
Alcatel-Lucent(Alcatel-Lucent),theparentcompanyofBellLabs,iswithdrawingfrombasicscience,physicalscienceandsemiconductorscientificresearch,andwillfocusonareasthatcanenterthemarketfaster,suchasnetworkingandhigh-speedelectronics,Wirelesstechnology,nanotechnologyandsoftware.AsaBellLabsspokespersonsaid,"Underthenewinnovationmodel,researchshouldbedevotedtoaddressingtheneedsoftheparentcompany."
Academicresearch
Theglobaleconomyisintheprocessofvigorousdevelopmentofinformatization.Intheinformationage,thereareinfrastructurescomposedofnetworking,computersandsoftware,manyofwhichcomefromthepowerfulinnovationsofBellLaboratories;transistors,informationtheoryanddigitaltransmissionareimportantfoundationsofphysics,mathematicsandtechnologyforinformationconstruction,andtheyareBellLabs.Oneofmanymilestonesinthehistoryofsciencecreatedbylaboratoryresearchresults.
Innovativeproducts
Inthepastcentury,theinnovativetechnologiesandproductsthatBellLabshasbroughttotheworldinclude:thefirstfaxmachine,push-buttontelephone,digitalmodem,Cellularphones,communicationsatellites,high-speedwirelessdatasystems,solarcells,charge-coupleddevices,digitalsignalprocessors,singlechips,lasersandopticalfibers,opticalamplifiers,densewavelengthdivisionmultiplexingsystems,firstlong-distancetelevisiontransmission,high-definitiontelevision;FromtheOvoderoelectronicspeechsynthesisdeviceshownin1939tothemostadvancedspeechsynthesisandrecognition.Itsstoredprogramcontrolandelectronicexchange,databaseandpackettechnologypavedthewayfortheapplicationofintelligentnetworks;theUNIXoperatingsystemitdevelopedenablesvarioustypesofcomputerstobenetworkedonalargescale,thusachievingthepracticalInternettoday;CandC++languagesItisoneofthemostwidelyusedprogramminglanguages;andthenetworkmanagementandoperatingsystemintroducedbyBellLabssupportsbillionsoftelephonecallsanddataconnectionsworldwideeveryday.ItcanbesaidthateverystephumanbeingstaketowardscivilizationiscloselyrelatedtoBellLabs.
ResearchAchievements
Atotalof8NobelPrizes(including7PhysicsPrizesand1ChemistryPrize).
In1933,KarlJanskydiscoveredthatthecenteroftheMilkyWayiscontinuouslyemittingradiowavesbystudyingelectrostaticnoiseinlong-distancecommunications,andestablishedradioastronomythroughthisresearch.
In1947,BellLabsinventedthetransistor.Participatinginthisresearch,JohnBardeen,WilliamShockley,andWalterHouserBrattainwontheNobelPrizeinPhysicsin1956.
Shannon(ClaudeShannon)publishedapaper"TheMathematicalPrinciplesofCommunication"in1948,whichlaidthefoundationformoderncommunicationtheory.HisresultsarebasedinpartonNyquistandHartley'spreviousworkatBellLabs.
In1970,KenThompsonofBellLaboratories,USA.BasedontheBCPLlanguage,designaverysimpleandclosetothehardwareBlanguage(takethefirstletterofBCPL).AndhewrotethefirstUNIXoperatingsysteminBlanguage.In1972,D.M.RitchieofBellLabsintheUnitedStatesfinallydesignedanewlanguagebasedontheBlanguage.HetookthesecondletteroftheBCPLasthenameofthelanguage,whichistheClanguage.BellLabsinventedthephotovoltaiccell.BellLabsisalsothebirthplaceoftheUNIXoperatingsystemandClanguage.TheClanguagewasdevelopedbyBrianKernighan,DennisRitchie,andKenThompsonintheearly1970s.Inthe1980s,itwasdevelopedintoC++languagebyBiganiStrusschup.
Time | Mainresearchresults |
1940 | DataNetwork |
1947 | Transistor,mobilephonetechnology |
1954 | Solarcell |
1958 | Laser |
1960 | MetalOxideHalfFieldEffectTransistor(MOSFET)(usedinCMOSlogiccellsforlarge-scaleintegratedcircuits),Suchasmicroprocessors,single-chipcomputers,etc.) |
1962 | Digitaltransmissionofvoicesignals,Communicationsatellite:Telstar1 |
1963 | Radioastronomy(spacetelescope,radiotelescope) |
1969 | UNIXoperatingsystem,chargecoupledcomponent(CCD,usedinBarcodereaders,cameras,scanners,photocopiers) |
1972 | CLanguage |
1979 | System-on-chipdigitalsignalprocessor(SoCDSP,Usedformodems,wirelessphones,etc. |
EnteringChina
InMay1997,BellLabsofficiallyenteredChina,respectivelyinBeijingEstablishedadevelopmentlaboratorywithShanghai,focusingonscientificresearchinthefieldsofmultimedia,communications,digitalsignalprocessing,andcommunicationssoftware,andworkedcloselywithShanghaiJiaotongUniversity,PekingUniversity,ZhejiangUniversityandotheruniversities,theChineseAcademyofSciences,theMinistryofInformationIndustryandotherresearchinstitutions,Hasmademanyachievementsinthefieldofapplicationdevelopment.InJuly1998,BellLabsAsiaPacificCommunicationsSoftwareCenterwasestablishedinBeijing.InNovemberofthesameyear,itsAsia-PacificandChinaheadquarterswassetupinBeijing.BellLabscametoChinaItisalsopartofacompany’sglobalizationstrategy.QuotingthesummaryofProfessorWangfromtheResearchInstituteoftheMinistryofForeignTradeandEconomicCooperation,foreigncompaniesfirstcametoChinatoselltheirownproducts,whichwasasalescenter.priceItisnotsuitableforthelocalmarket,soifyouwanttoproduceinChina,ithasestablishedmanyjointventures,andLucentisnoexception.Aftertheestablishmentofthesalescenterandjointventurecompany,thispartofproductdevelopmentwasalsomovedtoChina.TheONMPopticalnetworkmanagementprotocolsystemprojectisthefirstmajorscientificresearchprojectundertakenbyLucentBellLabsInstituteofBasicSciences(China)afteritsestablishment.ItisbasedonLucent'snewgenerationofall-opticalswitchesWaveStarTMLambdaRouterasitsresearchbackground.Thedesignoftheprotocolsystemandtherealizationoftheresearchprototypehavebeencompleted.SeveralachievementsofthisprojectareapplyingforUSpatentsandarebeingtransferredtoLucent'sproductdivision.
Inthepasttenyears,therapiddevelopmentofopticalcommunicationtechnologyhasprovideduserswithhugebandwidth.Inthepastfewyears,thefocusofresearchwasmainlyonthephysicallayer,suchasopticalfibertechnology,opticaldevices,andopticalswitches,whiletheupper-layeropticalnetworkmanagementprotocolsandsystemsarestillintheirinfancy.ThetelecommunicationsnetworkintelligenceonlyexistsintheelectronicswitchinglayercomposedofIProutersandATMswitches.Intheopticaltransportlayer,althoughtherearealreadylarge-capacitywavelengthdivisionmultiplexingtransmissionequipmentandopticalcross-connectequipmentavailable,theconnectionofopticalchannelsisstillManualconfiguration.Thismethodisinefficient,complicatedtooperate,andpronetoerrors,whichseverelyrestrictstheflexibility,reliabilityandscalabilityofthenetwork.Therefore,itisnecessarytointroducehigherintelligenceintheopticallayer.Suchintelligenceisthroughtheopticalnetwork.Managementsystem.ONMPisjustsuchaprotocolthroughwhichacorenetworkcanbeestablishedthatmeetscost-effective,flexibleexpansionandsupportbusinessservicequalityassurance.
ThegoaloftheONMPopticalnetworkmanagementprotocolsystemprojectistorealizeanintelligentopticaltransmissioncorenetwork,usinganoverlapmodel,out-of-bandcontrolsignaling,supportingautomaticend-to-endopticalpathrequest/allocation,andend-to-endEnd-of-servicequalityassurance.WithONMP,theopticalnetworkisintelligentlydistributedtothenetworkelements.Opticallayerbusinessservicescanbedefinedthroughsoftwaretodynamicallyallocateopticalnetworkresources.Itchangesfromprovidingonlytransmissionchannelstoprovidingcomprehensivebusinesssolutions,andmakingtheopticalnetworkanintelligent,all-opticalnetworkcapableofprovidingvariousbandwidthapplicationsandservices,ensuringtheflexibility,reliabilityandscalabilityoftheopticalnetwork.ONMPprovidesanintelligentplatformforanewgenerationofopticalnetworks.
BellLaboratories(China)DivisionwontheBellLabsPresident’sGoldAward,whichisthehighestawardthatcanbeobtainedforR&DatLucent,anditisalsotheachievementofBellLaboratories(China)Divisionforfouryearsofdevelopment.
BasicScience
OnMarch23,2000,BellLaboratoriesestablishedanewresearchinstitutioninBeijing,BellLaboratoriesInstituteofBasicScience[China].ThisisthefirsttimeBellLabshasestablishedaresearchinstituteoutsideoftheUnitedStates.
TheBellLabsInstituteofBasicSciences(China)isacenterofexcellenceintechnologyandinnovation,providingtechnicalsupporttoLucent’sbusinesssectorandcustomersinChinaandtheAsia-Pacificregion.Theresearchinstituteismainlydevotedtoresearchinthefieldofappliedtechnology,andtransfersitsappliedtechnologytoLucentProductDepartmentandLucentGlobalServices(LWS)throughthedevelopmentofapplicationideasandtechnicalprototypes.Whilecarryingoutinnovativeandappliedresearchinthetruesense,BellLabsInstituteofBasicSciences(China)isalsocommittedtobasicresearchinthefieldsofInternettechnology,software,wirelesscommunications,opticalnetworks,computerscience,andappliedmathematics.Theinstitutereliesonbasicresearchanddevelopsapplicationsonthisbasis.
TheBellLabsInstituteofBasicScience(China)hascarriedoutfruitfulcooperationwiththeChinesescientificandtechnologicalcirclesandeducationcircles.Atthesametime,theinstitutealsoactivelyprovidessupporttovariouslocaldepartmentsofLucent.TheInstituteiscurrentlycooperatingwithindustriesanduniversitiesinAustraliaandNewZealand,whichprovidesLucentwithnewbusinessopportunities.
TheBellLabsInstituteofBasicScience(China)hasestablishedaclosecooperativerelationshipwithChineseuniversities.IthasestablishedthreejointlaboratoriesincooperationwithTsinghuaUniversity;establishedajointlaboratoryincooperationwiththeInstituteofSoftwareoftheChineseAcademyofSciences;andestablishedajointlaboratoryincooperationwithFudanUniversity.Theresearchareasofthesejointlaboratoriesinvolveopticalnetworks,next-generationInternetIPv6,wirelesscommunications,softwaresystems,andnetworkanalysisanddesign.Atthesametime,theInstitutecooperatedwiththeNationalNaturalScienceFoundationofChinatojointlyfundkeyprojectsandyouthfundprojects.
ResearchInstitute
TheyoungandtalentedresearchpersonneloftheResearchInstituteworkindifferentresearchfields,arecommittedtothedevelopmentofscienceandtechnology,andstrivetorealizethemselvesinthefieldofscientificresearch.
TheBellLabsInstituteofBasicSciences(China)hasbeencommittedtobecomingacenterofinnovativetechnologyandinnovationtostrengthensupportforLucent’sbusinessunitsandcustomersinChinaandtheAsia-Pacificregion.Theinstitutehascarriedoutandcompletedseveralimportantresearchtopicsinthefieldsofall-opticalnetwork,next-generationInternetIPv6,wirelesscommunication,communicationandsoftwaresystemintegrationandinteroperability.TheresearchresultsoftheIProutertestsoftwaresystem,opticalnetworkmanagementprotocolsystemandwirelesscommunicationsystemoftheinstitutehaveappliedforUSandChinesepatents,andarebeingtransformedintoLucent'sproductdepartment.Theinstituteisaworldleaderinsystemintegrationandinteroperability.TheIPv6edgerouterwithopticalandwirelessinterfacesdevelopedbytheresearchinstitutesuccessfullyrealizedtheinterconnectionwithopticalcross-connectequipmentandwirelessmobilecommunicationequipment.InApril2001,theAcademyjoinedChina'sNextGenerationInternetasoneofthefirstforeign-fundedresearchinstitutions.
Since2004,theresearchdirectionoftheInstitutehasshiftedtotheresearchofinnovativeapplicationtechnologies.Thefourongoingapplication-orientedresearchprojectsareprogressingveryrapidly.InSeptember2004,attheAppliedTechnologyExchangeDayheldattheheadquartersofBellLaboratoriesinMorrison,theresearchinstitutedemonstratedthetechnicalprototypesofsomeprojects.ManyproductdepartmentsandmarketingteamsofLucentexpressedgreatappreciationfortheresearchprojectsundertakenbytheresearchinstitute.interest.TheInstitutewillalsocooperatewithLucent'sGlobalServicesDepartmentonthisbasistoprovideprofessionalservicestocustomers.Inordertosupporttheresearchworkoftheseprojectsandtocatertothefutureintegrationtrendoftelecommunications,theInstitutehasestablished6functionalgroups:SIP/RTP,Multimedia,UserProfile,PolicySupport,LocationandSecuritytoconductresearchintheabovetechnicalfields.Thesefunctionalgroupscloselylinkapplicationtechnologywithbasicresearch,andatthesametimeprovideaunifiedplatformforallapplications.
Reasonsforsuccess
1.IncubatedinthemechanicalandengineeringdepartmentsofAT&TandWesternElectricCorporationfor40years.TheR&Dpolicyhasundergonemanychangesandtempers.Thepersonnelalreadyhaveawealthofexperience,andareliablemethodhasbeenfoundfortheallocationofR&Dfacilitiesandfunds,thuspreparingastableandreliablefoundationforthedevelopmentofBellLabsafteritsestablishment.
2.ThereisalwaysaclearunderstandingandunderstandingofR&Dtasks:focusontheR&Dofcommunicationtechnologyandproducts,andradiatetoothertechnologiesandproducts.Theknowledgeandunderstandingofthetaskevolvesovertime.
3.Determinedtopursuetheoriginalityofresearchanddevelopment,anduseittodevelopmoldingtechnologyandproductdevelopment,becausethecompanyalwaysfacesadvancedcommunicationtechnologiesandproducts,soitmustandonlystartwiththeoriginalityofbasicresearch.Onlyinordertogainanadvantageinthefiercecompetitionofcommunicationproducts,canthequalityofhumancommunicationlifebeimproved.
4.Agatheringoftalents,goodatselectingandcultivatingoutstandingscientificandtechnologicaltalents.
5.Freeresearchandteamwork.
6.InnovationisthesoulofBellLabs.
7.BellLabs'goodacademicenvironmentisthe"Eden"ofresearch.
8.Anillustrationofthedoublehelixstructureoftheelementsofbasicresearch,technologydevelopment,productproductionandmarketing.
9.Short-rangetechnology,technology,productionandsales,andopenandclosecycles.
10.Scientificspiritandteamspiritandstyle.
11.Successisconstructedbysuccess.
12.Thesuccessstemsfromthesystemengineeringformedbytheabove-mentionedvariousreasonsandelements.