Evolution of Photonic Infrastructure in the IOWN Concept: Architecture, Experimental Results, and Real‑Time Applications

J. Nazdrowicz (Lodz Univ. of Techn./Fujitsu, Poland), S. Siminski (Fujitsu, Poland, Poland)

The rapid growth of AI, distributed computing, and cyber‑physical systems exposes fundamental limitations of electronic communication infrastructures. The Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) initiative proposes a photonics‑centric architecture designed to overcome the latency, bandwidth, and energy constraints inherent to electronic networks. By combining the All‑Photonics Network (APN), Photonic‑Electronics Convergence (PEC), Digital Twin Computing (DTC), and the Cognitive Foundation (CF), IOWN enables near‑propagation‑limited latency, ultra‑high capacity, and large‑scale intelligent orchestration. This paper synthesizes architectural concepts with state‑of‑the‑art experimental results from 2024–2026, including the 17 ms long‑haul Tokyo–Taiwan APN demonstration and remote industrial control at 300 km, showing that IOWN is transitioning from a conceptual framework into a deployable, industry‑grade infrastructure. We also discuss the roadmap toward IOWN 2.0/3.0 and the integration of photonic quantum computing.