Communication system, communication device, communication method, and communication program

Abstract

Provided is a communication system capable of performing highly secure communication. This communication system is characterized by comprising: a first communication device comprising a first large language model (LLM) processing unit that inputs transmission data to an LLM and acquires a transmission packet obtained by encoding the transmission data by the LLM, and a transmission unit that transmits the transmission packet acquired by the first LLM processing unit; and a second communication device comprising a reception unit that receives, as a reception packet, the transmission packet transmitted by the transmission unit, and a second LLM processing unit that inputs the reception packet received by the reception unit to the LLM and acquires reception data obtained by decoding the reception packet by the LLM.

Description

COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, COMMUNICATION DEVICE, COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND COMMUNICATION PROGRAM

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication system, a communication device, a communication method, and a communication program.

[0002] In recent years, various devices, such as residential equipment, energy generation and storage equipment, IoT (Internet of Things) home appliances, FA (Factory Automation) equipment, personal computers, tablet devices, and smartphones, have communication capabilities and communicate with servers on the Internet using communication protocols such as ECHONET (registered trademark) Lite, CC-Link (registered trademark), and TCP / IP. Examples of such residential equipment include floor heating, smart meters, intercoms, electronic locks, cameras, storm shutters, shutters, and blinds. Examples of such energy generation and storage equipment include electric vehicle chargers, hot water heaters, storage batteries, fuel cells, and solar power generators. Examples of such IoT home appliances include cleaning robots, healthcare devices, microwave ovens, smart speakers, televisions, air conditioners, and lighting fixtures.

[0003] Devices equipped with communication functions need to ensure the security of their communications. For example, an inference device described in Patent Literature 1 includes a neural network processing unit that executes a trained existing model for performing predetermined inference and a concealment model for concealing output data of the existing model to generate encrypted data, thereby enabling concealment processing to be performed using only the processing unit that processes the neural network, without requiring a processing unit dedicated to encryption processing.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-163835

[0005] However, in a communication system in which various devices communicate using a specific communication protocol, if the specific communication protocol is broken by hacking or other means, there is a problem that this can have a major impact on the infrastructure equipment that uses the specific communication protocol.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and provides a communication system, a communication device, a communication method, and a communication program that enable highly secure communication.

[0007] This disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and one aspect of the present disclosure is a communication system comprising: a first communication device comprising: a first LLM processing unit that inputs transmission data into an LLM (Large Language Model) and obtains a transmission packet into which the LLM encodes the transmission data; and a transmission unit that transmits the transmission packet obtained by the first LLM processing unit; and a second communication device comprising: a receiving unit that receives the transmission packet transmitted by the transmitting unit as a received packet; and a second LLM processing unit that inputs the received packet received by the receiving unit into the LLM and obtains received data into which the LLM decodes the received packet.

[0008] Another aspect of the present disclosure is the above-mentioned communication system, wherein the first LLM processing unit acquires first document data from a document that defines a communication protocol, associates the acquired first document data with the transmission data and inputs it into the LLM, and the LLM acquires the transmission packet encoded based on the first document data, and the second LLM processing unit searches for and acquires second document data corresponding to the reception packet from the document, associates the acquired second document data with the reception data and inputs it into the LLM, and the LLM acquires the reception data decoded based on the second document data.

[0009] Another aspect of the present disclosure is the above-mentioned communication system, wherein the document is stored in a vector database, and the second LLM processing unit searches for and obtains the second document data corresponding to the received packet from the document stored in the vector database.

[0010] Another aspect of the present disclosure is the above-described communication system, wherein the document is a private document that defines a private communication protocol.

[0011] Another aspect of the present disclosure is the above-mentioned communication system, wherein the document is a document specifying a merge protocol generated by having the LLM learn documents specifying multiple different communication protocols.

[0012] Another aspect of the present disclosure is the above-mentioned communication system, wherein the documents are a plurality of documents each specifying a plurality of communication protocols different from each other, and the first LLM processing unit acquires the first document data from a document selected from the plurality of documents based on a current time.

[0013] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a communication device characterized by including a receiving unit that receives a transmission packet in which an LLM encodes transmission data as a received packet, and an LLM processing unit that inputs the received packet received by the receiving unit to the LLM and obtains received data decoded by the LLM from the received packet.

[0014] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a communication device comprising: a receiving unit that receives a transmission packet in which an NPU (Neural network Processing Unit) encodes transmission data as a received packet; and an LLM processing unit that inputs the received packet received by the receiving unit to the NPU and obtains received data decoded by the NPU from the received packet.

[0015] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a communication system comprising a first communication device, a second communication device, and an LLM device, wherein the first communication device comprises a first LLM processing unit that inputs transmission data to the LLM device and acquires a transmission packet obtained by the LLM device encoding the transmission data, and a transmission unit that transmits the transmission packet acquired by the first LLM processing unit, the second communication device comprises a receiving unit that receives the transmission packet transmitted by the transmitting unit as a reception packet, and a second LLM processing unit that inputs the reception packet received by the receiving unit to the LLM and acquires reception data obtained by the LLM device decoding the reception packet, and the LLM device is a large-scale language model that encodes the transmission data to generate the transmission packet and decodes the reception packet to generate the reception data.

[0016] Another aspect of the present disclosure is the above-mentioned communication system, further comprising a document storage device that stores a document that specifies a communication protocol, wherein the first LLM processing unit acquires first document data from the document storage device, associates the acquired first document data with the transmission data and inputs it to the LLM device, and the LLM device acquires the transmission packet encoded based on the first document data, and the second LLM processing unit searches for and acquires second document data corresponding to the reception packet from the document storage device, associates the acquired second document data with the reception data and inputs it to the LLM device, and the LLM device acquires the reception data decoded based on the second document data.

[0017] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a communication method including an encoding process step of inputting transmission data to an LLM and obtaining a transmission packet obtained by the LLM encoding the transmission data; a transmission step of transmitting the transmission packet obtained in the encoding process step; a reception step of receiving the transmission packet transmitted in the transmission step as a reception packet; and a decoding process step of inputting the reception packet received in the reception step to the LLM and obtaining reception data obtained by the LLM decoding the reception packet.

[0018] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a communication program that causes a computer to execute an encoding process step of inputting transmission data to an LLM and obtaining a transmission packet obtained by the LLM encoding the transmission data, a transmission step of transmitting the transmission packet obtained in the encoding process step, a reception step of receiving the transmission packet transmitted in the transmission step as a reception packet, and a decoding process step of inputting the reception packet received in the reception step to the LLM and obtaining reception data obtained by the LLM decoding the reception packet.

[0019] According to this disclosure, a communication system, a communication device, a communication method, and a communication program can perform communication with high security.

[0020] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configurations of a server device 10 and an edge device 20 in the same embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart explaining the operation (part 1) of the communication system 1 in the same embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart explaining the operation (part 2) of the communication system 1 in the same embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart explaining the operation (part 1) of the communication system 1 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a flowchart explaining the operation (part 2) of the communication system 1 in the same embodiment. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram explaining the operation of a communication system 1 according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a flowchart explaining the operation (part 1) of the communication system 1 in the same embodiment. FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system 1 according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system 1 according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system 1 according to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram explaining the hardware configuration of each device according to each embodiment.

[0021] First Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system 1 includes a server device 10, an edge device 20, an LLM (Large Language Model) device 30, and a vector DB (Data Base) device 40. The server device 10, the edge device 20, the LLM device 30, and the vector DB device 40 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via the Internet or the like. Note that the communication system 1 may include multiple server devices 10 or multiple edge devices 20.

[0022] The server device 10 is constructed, for example, on a cloud, and collects information from the edge device 20 and provides services to the edge device 20. The server device 10 may be realized by one or more computers reading and executing a program. The edge device 20 is, for example, a home appliance, an energy generation / storage facility, an IoT home appliance, an FA (Factory Automation) device, a personal computer, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, etc., and provides information to the server device 10 or receives services provided by the server device 10. Note that at least a portion of the configuration of the edge device 20 may be realized by one or more computers reading and executing a program.

[0023] The server device 10 and the edge device 20 acquire documents defining the protocols from the vector DB device 40 and request the LLM device 30 to convert between the transmitted and received data and communication packets based on the documents. Based on the requests from the server device 10 and the edge device 20, the LLM device 30 performs the conversion between the transmitted and received data and communication packets using a large language model (LLM). The LLM device 30 may be implemented by one or more computers reading and executing a program, and a neural network processing unit (NPU) may be used instead of the LLM. The vector DB device 40 (document storage unit) stores documents defining the protocols used for communication between the server device 10 and the edge device 20.

[0024] The communication packets may be those based on a private communication protocol, which can prevent a third party from eavesdropping on the communication content or prevent the server device 10 or the edge device 20 from malfunctioning due to a fake communication packet created by a third party.

[0025] 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the server device 10 and the edge device 20 in this embodiment. The server device 10 includes a transmission / reception processing unit 11, an LLM processing unit 12, and an application processing unit 13. The edge device 20 includes a transmission / reception processing unit 21, an LLM processing unit 22, and an application processing unit 23. Each of the server device 10 and the edge device 20 may also include hardware for functioning as each device (for example, a boiler for functioning as a water heater), a processing unit, etc.

[0026] In the following, an example will be described in which the server device 10 is the first communication device, the edge device 20 is the second communication device, and the server device 10 transmits transmission data to the edge device 20. Note that in the case in which the edge device 20 is the first communication device, the server device 10 is the second communication device, and the edge device 20 transmits transmission data to the server device 10, the same results can be achieved by swapping the transmission / reception processing unit 11 and the transmission / reception processing unit 21, and the LLM processing unit 12 and the LLM processing unit 22, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. Furthermore, the same applies to communications between server devices 10 and between edge devices 20, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0027] The application processing unit 13 generates transmission data for collecting information from the edge device 20 and providing services to the edge device 20. The LLM processing unit 12 (first LLM processing unit) inputs transmission data to the LLM device 30 (LLM) and acquires transmission packets into which the LLM device 30 encodes the transmission data. For example, the LLM processing unit 12 instructs the LLM device 30 to perform a first conversion, which is a conversion of the transmission data into a communication packet (transmission packet), and acquires the communication packet converted based on the instruction from the LLM device 30. The transmission / reception processing unit 11 (transmission unit) transmits the communication packet acquired by the LLM processing unit 12 to the edge device 20.

[0028] The transmission / reception processing unit 21 (receiving unit) receives communication packets transmitted by the transmission / reception processing unit 11 as received packets. The LLM processing unit 22 (second LLM processing unit) inputs the received packets received by the transmission / reception processing unit 21 to the LLM device 30, and acquires received data obtained by the LLM device 30 decoding the received packets. The LLM processing unit 22 instructs the LLM device 30 to perform a second conversion, which is, for example, converting the communication packets received by the transmission / reception processing unit 21 into received data, and acquires the converted received data from the LLM device 30 based on the instruction. The application processing unit 23 acquires the received data acquired by the LLM processing unit 22. This received data is used by the application processing unit 23 to provide information to the server device 10 and receive services provided by the server device 10.

[0029] The vector DB device 40 stores a first document that defines a first communication protocol used for communication between the server device 10 and the edge device 20. The first document may be composed of multiple documents. The first document may also be a private document that defines a private communication protocol.

[0030] For example, the LLM processing unit 12 may acquire first document data from a document that defines a communication protocol, associate the acquired first document data with transmission data and input it to the LLM device 30, and acquire a transmission packet that the LLM device 30 encodes based on the first document data. The LLM processing unit 12 may input a first conversion instruction to the LLM device 30 and also input at least a first portion of the first document. The first conversion instruction may be, for example, "Convert the transmission data into a communication packet to be sent to the edge device 20. The transmission data is 5 bytes and is 0xXXXXX. The address of the edge device 20 is 3 bytes and is 0xYYY. The sender's address is 3 bytes and is 0xZZZ." The LLM processing unit 22 may also search for and acquire second document data corresponding to the received packet from a document defining the communication protocol, associate the acquired second document data with the received data, input the acquired second document data to the LLM device 30, and acquire the received data decoded by the LLM device 30 based on the second document data. The LLM processing unit 22 may also input a second conversion instruction to the LLM device 30 and input at least a second portion of the first document. The second conversion instruction may be, for example, "Convert the communication packet into received data. The communication packet is 5 bytes and is 0xXXXXXX." or "Please tell me the items included in the communication packet and the values ​​of those items. The communication packet is 5 bytes and is 0xXXXXXX." The second conversion instruction may also include a specification of the items to be acquired from the communication packet.

[0031] The first document stored in the vector DB device 40 may be chunked and vectorized and stored in the vector database of the vector DB device 40. The chunked and vectorized first portion or first document data may be a portion retrieved from the first document based on a first conversion instruction, and the chunked and vectorized second portion or second document data may be a portion retrieved from the first document based on a second conversion instruction. In other words, the first portion may be a portion of the first document related to the first conversion instruction. The second portion may be a portion of the first document related to the second conversion instruction. These searches may be performed in response to instructions from the LLM processing units 12 and 22.

[0032] 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the communication system 1 according to this embodiment. The flowchart in FIG. 3 shows preprocessing before communication. If at least one of the LLM processing units 12 and 22 (hereinafter also referred to as LLM PROC S / W (Software)) is operating (step Sa1—Yes), the communication system 1 performs the processes shown in steps Sa2 to Sa8.

[0033] In step Sa2, the LLM PROC S / W starts processing. Next, if the vector DB device 40 (hereinafter also referred to as the non-disclosure server) stores the vectorized (vectorized) first document (step Sa3-No), the LLM PROC S / W ends processing (step Sa8).

[0034] On the other hand, if the vectorized first document is not stored in the vector DB device 40 (step Sa3—Yes), the LLM PROC S / W acquires a document that defines a communication protocol (step Sa4), converts the document (step Sa5), and vectorizes it (step Sa6). Next, the LLM PROC S / W stores the vectorized document as the first document in the vector DB device 40 (step Sa7), and terminates the process (step Sa8). Note that the conversion in step Sa5 is, for example, a conversion into text and chunking.

[0035] 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the communication system 1 according to this embodiment. The flowchart in FIG. 4 illustrates a process in which two LLM PROC S / Ws (LLM processing units 12 and 22) communicate (transmission from the server device 10 to the edge device 20). Note that in the case of transmission from the edge device 20 to the server device 10, the LLM processing unit 12 and the LLM processing unit 22 in the following description can be interchanged, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0036] First, if the two LLM PROC S / Ws are not operating (step Sb1—No), communication is terminated. On the other hand, if the two LLM PROC S / Ws are operating (step Sb1—Yes), the transmission S / W (transmission / reception processing unit 11, transmission unit) requests the LLM PROC S / W (LLM processing unit 12) to transmit data (transmission data) using a private protocol (first communication protocol) (step Sb2). Note that the protocol does not have to be specified in this request. As long as the LLM processing unit 12 and the LLM processing unit 22 use the same protocol, the LLM processing unit 12 may decide which protocol to use. Furthermore, after a protocol is specified in the first request, the protocol does not have to be specified in subsequent requests. Furthermore, the data may be data provided by the application processing unit 13.

[0037] Next, the requested LLM processing unit 12 searches for a document (first document) that specifies the private protocol for transmitting data (step Sb3). Next, the LLM processing unit 12 instructs the LLM device 30 to convert the data into a communication packet by referencing the searched first document (step Sb4). The LLM device 30 converts (encodes) the data into a communication packet in accordance with the searched first document (step Sb5). The transmission / reception processing unit 11 acquires and stores the communication packet (encoded data) converted in step Sb5 via the LLM processing unit 12 (step Sb6). The transmission / reception processing unit 11 may reuse the stored communication packet when transmitting the same data. Next, the transmission / reception processing unit 11 transmits the communication packet (step Sb7).

[0038] Next, upon receiving the communication packet transmitted in step Sb7, the transmission S / W (transmission / reception processing unit 21, reception unit) requests the LLM PROC S / W (LLM processing unit 22) to decode (convert) the communication packet using a private protocol (first communication protocol) (step Sb8). Note that the protocol does not have to be specified in this request. It is sufficient that the LLM processing unit 12 and the LLM processing unit 22 use the same protocol, and the LLM processing unit 22 may decide to use the same protocol as the LLM processing unit 12. Furthermore, after a protocol is specified in the first request, the protocol does not have to be specified in subsequent requests.

[0039] Next, the requested LLM processing unit 22 searches for a document (first document) that specifies the private protocol to decode (convert) the communication packet (step Sb9). Next, the LLM processing unit 22 instructs the decoding (conversion into received data) of the communication packet by referring to the searched first document (step Sb10). The LLM device 30 converts (decodes) the communication packet into received data in accordance with the searched first document (step Sb11). The transmission / reception processing unit 21 acquires and stores the received data (decoded data) converted in step Sb11 via the LLM processing unit 22 (step Sb12). Note that the transmission / reception processing unit 21 may reuse the stored received data when receiving the same communication packet. Next, the LLM processing unit 22 or the transmission / reception processing unit 21 passes the received data to the application processing unit 23 (step Sb13) and terminates the process.

[0040] As described above, the first communication device (server device 10, edge device 20) includes a first LLM processing unit (LLM processing unit 12, 22) that instructs the LLM device 30 to perform a first conversion, which is a conversion of transmission data into communication packets, and acquires the converted communication packets from the LLM device 30 based on the instruction, and a transmitting unit (transmission / reception processing unit 11, 21) that transmits the communication packets acquired by the first LLM processing unit to the second communication device (edge ​​device 20, server device 10). The second communication device also includes a receiving unit (transmission / reception processing unit 21, 11) that receives the communication packets transmitted by the transmitting unit, and a second LLM processing unit (LLM processing unit 22, 12) that instructs the LLM device 30 to perform a second conversion, which is a conversion of the communication packets received by the receiving unit into received data, and acquires the converted received data from the LLM device 30 based on the instruction. Furthermore, the LLM device 30 performs the first conversion and the second conversion using a large-scale language model. This allows the communication system 1 to perform highly secure communications by using a non-public protocol.

[0041] Second Embodiment In the second embodiment, the communication system 1 generates a document that defines a new communication protocol (merge protocol) by having the LLM device 30 learn documents that define multiple different communication protocols, and communicates using the merge protocol. The configurations of the communication system 1, server device 10, edge device 20, LLM device 30, and vector DB device 40 in the second embodiment are the same as those in Figures 1 and 2, so the following description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment.

[0042] The vector DB device 40 stores a plurality of documents that define a plurality of mutually different communication protocols. The plurality of documents may be vectorized. The LLM processing units 12 and 22 cause the LLM device 30 to generate a second document that defines a second communication protocol that is different from the plurality of communication protocols, based on the plurality of documents stored in the vector DB device 40.

[0043] The LLM processing unit 12 inputs a first conversion instruction to the LLM device 30 and also inputs at least a portion of a second document. The at least a portion of the second document may be a portion retrieved from the second document based on the first conversion instruction. The LLM processing unit 22 inputs a second conversion instruction to the LLM device 30 and also inputs at least a portion of the second document. The at least a portion of the second document may be a portion retrieved from the second document based on the second conversion instruction.

[0044] 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the communication system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. The flowchart in FIG. 5 shows preprocessing before communication. If at least one of the LLM processing units 12 and 22 (hereinafter also referred to as LLM PROC S / W (Software)) is operating (step Sc1—Yes), the communication system 1 performs the processes shown in steps Sc2 to Sc12.

[0045] In step Sc2, LLM PROC S / W processing is started. Next, if the vector DB device 40 (hereinafter also referred to as a non-disclosure server) does not store multiple vectorized (vector databased) documents (documents that define multiple communication protocols) (step Sc3-No), LLM PROC S / W ends processing (step Sc12).

[0046] On the other hand, if the vector DB device 40 stores multiple vectorized documents (step Sc3—Yes), the LLM PROC S / W acquires the documents that define two or more different communication protocols (step Sc4), inputs the documents to the LLM device 30 for learning (step Sc5), and causes the LLM device 30 to generate a document that defines a communication protocol (merged protocol) that merges the two or more communication protocols defined in the documents (step Sc6). Next, the LLM PROC S / W stores the document that defines the merged communication protocol in the vector DB device 40 (step Sc7).

[0047] Next, the LLM PROC S / W acquires the document that defines the merged communication protocol (step Sc8), converts the document (step Sc9), and vectorizes it (step Sc10). Next, the LLM PROC S / W stores the vectorized document as a second document in the vector DB device 40 (step Sc11), and ends the process (step Sc12). Note that the conversion in step Sc9 is, for example, a conversion to text and chunking.

[0048] 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the communication system 1 according to this embodiment. The flowchart in FIG. 6 illustrates a process in which two LLM PROC S / Ws (LLM processing units 12 and 22) communicate (transmission from the server device 10 to the edge device 20). Note that in the case of transmission from the edge device 20 to the server device 10, the LLM processing unit 12 and the LLM processing unit 22 in the following description can be interchanged, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0049] First, if the two LLM PROC S / Ws are not operating (step Sd1—No), communication is terminated. On the other hand, if the two LLM PROC S / Ws are operating (step Sd1—Yes), the transmission S / W (transmission / reception processing unit 11, transmission unit) requests the LLM PROC S / W (LLM processing unit 12) to transmit data (transmission data) using the merged communication protocol (merged protocol) (step Sd2). Note that the protocol does not need to be specified in this request. As long as the LLM processing unit 12 and the LLM processing unit 22 use the same protocol, the LLM processing unit 12 may decide which protocol to use. Furthermore, after a protocol is specified in the first request, the protocol does not need to be specified in subsequent requests. Furthermore, the data may be data provided by the application processing unit 13.

[0050] Next, the requested LLM processing unit 12 searches for a document (second document) that defines the merged communication protocol for data transmission (step Sd3). Next, the LLM processing unit 12 instructs the LLM device 30 to convert the data into a communication packet by referencing the searched second document (step Sd4). The LLM device 30 converts (encodes) the data into a communication packet in accordance with the searched second document (step Sd5). The transmission / reception processing unit 11 acquires and stores the communication packet (encoded data) converted in step Sd5 via the LLM processing unit 12 (step Sd6). The transmission / reception processing unit 11 may reuse the stored communication packet when transmitting the same data. Next, the transmission / reception processing unit 11 transmits the communication packet (step Sd7).

[0051] Next, upon receiving the communication packet transmitted in step Sd7, the transmission S / W (transmission / reception processing unit 21, reception unit) requests the LLM PROC S / W (LLM processing unit 22) to decode (convert) the communication packet using the merged communication protocol (merge protocol) (step Sd8). Note that the protocol does not have to be specified in this request. As long as the LLM processing unit 12 and the LLM processing unit 22 use the same protocol, the LLM processing unit 22 may decide to use the same protocol as the LLM processing unit 12. Furthermore, after a protocol is specified in the first request, the protocol does not have to be specified in subsequent requests.

[0052] Next, the requested LLM processing unit 22 searches for a document (second document) that defines the merged communication protocol to decode (convert) the communication packet (step Sd9). Next, the LLM processing unit 22 instructs the LLM device 30 to decode (convert to received data) the communication packet by referencing the searched second document (step Sd10). The LLM device 30 converts (decodes) the communication packet into received data in accordance with the searched second document (step Sd11). The transmission / reception processing unit 21 acquires and stores the received data (decoded data) converted in step Sd11 via the LLM processing unit 22 (step Sd12). The transmission / reception processing unit 21 may reuse the stored received data when receiving the same communication packet. Next, the transmission / reception processing unit 21 passes the received data to the application processing unit 23 (step Sd13) and terminates the process.

[0053] In this way, the vector DB device 40 stores multiple documents that define multiple communication protocols, and the LLM processing units 12 and 22 cause the LLM device 30 to generate a second document that defines a second communication protocol that is different from the multiple communication protocols based on the multiple documents stored in the vector DB device 40. This allows the communication system 1 to communicate using a new communication protocol created based on the multiple protocols. Because it is a new communication protocol, it is difficult for a third party to understand the content of this communication.

[0054] In the third embodiment, the communication system 1 performs communication by switching between multiple different communication protocols in a time-division manner. The configurations of the communication system 1, server device 10, edge device 20, LLM device 30, and vector DB device 40 in the third embodiment are the same as those in Figures 1 and 2, so the following description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment.

[0055] The vector DB device 40 stores multiple documents, each defining a different communication protocol. The multiple documents may be vectorized. The LLM processing units 12 and 22 input a first conversion instruction to the LLM device 30 and also input at least a portion of a document selected from the multiple documents. Note that at least a portion of the selected document may be a portion retrieved from the selected document based on the first conversion instruction. The LLM processing units 12 and 22 input a second conversion instruction to the LLM device 30 and also input at least a portion of the selected document. Note that at least a portion of the selected document may be a portion retrieved from the selected document based on the second conversion instruction. Note that the LLM processing units 12 and 22 may select a document from the multiple documents based on the current time. This allows the LLM processing units 12 and 22 to select the same document. In addition, the LLM processing units 12 and 22 may cause the LLM device 30 to generate a second document that specifies a merge protocol different from the two communication protocols corresponding to at least two of the multiple documents stored in the vector DB device 40, and include the second document in the multiple documents.

[0056] 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of the communication system 1 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. First, the server device 10 acquires at least a portion of a document defining protocol P1 from the vector DB device 40, transmits a first conversion instruction along with the portion to the LLM device 30, and acquires a communication packet in response (sequence C1). Next, the server device 10 transmits the communication packet acquired in sequence C1 to the edge device 20, and the edge device 20 receives the communication packet (sequence C2). Next, the edge device 20 acquires at least a portion of a document defining protocol P1 from the vector DB device 40, transmits a second conversion instruction for the received communication packet along with the portion to the LLM device 30, and acquires the received data in response (sequence C3). In these sequences C1 and C3, the LLM device 30 performs the first and second conversions using the document defining protocol P1.

[0057] Next, the LLM processing unit 12, 22 changes the communication protocol used from protocol P1 to protocol P2 (sequences C4a, C4b). This change may be made based on time. The edge device 20 acquires at least a portion of a document defining protocol P2 from the vector DB device 40, transmits the portion together with an instruction for a first conversion to the LLM device 30, and acquires a communication packet in response (sequence C5). Next, the edge device 20 transmits the communication packet acquired in sequence C5 to the server device 10, and the server device 10 receives the communication packet (sequence C6). Next, the server device 10 acquires at least a portion of a document defining protocol P2 from the vector DB device 40, transmits the portion together with an instruction for a second conversion of the received communication packet to the LLM device 30, and acquires the received data in response (sequence C7).

[0058] Next, the server device 10 acquires at least a portion of the document defining protocol P2 from the vector DB device 40, transmits the portion together with an instruction for a first conversion to the LLM device 30, and acquires a communication packet in response (sequence C8). Next, the server device 10 transmits the communication packet acquired in sequence C8 to the edge device 20, which receives the communication packet (sequence C9). Next, the edge device 20 acquires at least a portion of the document defining protocol P2 from the vector DB device 40, transmits the portion together with an instruction for a second conversion of the received communication packet to the LLM device 30, and acquires the received data in response (sequence C10). In these sequences C5, C7, C8, and C10, the LLM device 30 performs the first and second conversions using the document defining protocol P2. Next, the LLM processing units 12 and 22 change the communication protocol they use from protocol P2 to protocol P3 (sequences C11a and C11b). In this way, the LLM processing units 12 and 22 switch the communication protocols used for the first conversion and the second conversion in a time-division manner.

[0059] 8 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the communication system 1 according to this embodiment. The flowchart in FIG. 8 shows preprocessing before communication. When at least one of the LLM processing units 12 and 22 (hereinafter also referred to as LLM PROC S / W (Software)) is operating (step Se1—Yes), the communication system 1 performs the processes shown in steps Se2 to Se6.

[0060] In step S32, the LLM PROC S / W starts processing. Next, if the vector DB device 40 stores documents that define multiple vectorized (vectorized in a vector database) communication protocols (step Se3—Yes), the LLM PROC S / W activates the communication protocol selection function of the LLM processing units 12 and 22 (step e4), and ends processing (step Se6).

[0061] On the other hand, if the vector DB device 40 does not store a document specifying multiple communication protocols that have been vectorized (vectorized into a vector database) (step Se3-No), it disables the communication protocol selection function of the LLM processing units 12, 22 (step e5) and terminates the processing (step Se6).

[0062] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the communication system 1 according to this embodiment. The flowchart in FIG. 9 illustrates processing by the communication protocol selection function of the LLM PROC S / W (LLM processing units 12 and 22) when two communication S / Ws (transmission / reception processing units 11 and 21) are communicating. First, if the two communication S / Ws are not operating (No in step Sf1), the processing is terminated. On the other hand, if the two communication S / Ws are operating (Yes in step Sf1), the communication protocol selection function of the LLM PROC S / W stores null as the selection result from among multiple communication protocols and initializes the selection result (step Sf2). Next, the communication protocol selection function of the LLM PROC S / W continues the processing from step Sf3 to Sf8 until communication between the two communication S / Ws is terminated.

[0063] In step Sf3, the communication protocol selection function selects one communication protocol from multiple communication protocols. Next, the communication protocol selection function determines whether the communication protocol selected in step Sf3 is different from the communication protocol stored as the selection result (step Sf4). If they are not different (match) (step Sf4-No), the communication protocol selection function returns to step Sf3. On the other hand, if they are different (step Sf4-Yes), the communication protocol selection function sets the start time of use of the communication protocol selected in step Sf3 to the current time and determines the end time of use of the communication protocol (step Sf5). The end time of use may be a predetermined time after the start time of use.

[0064] Next, in step Sf6, the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 (Flowchart 1-2) or FIG. 6 (Flowchart 2-2) is performed. Here, the document specifying the communication protocol selected in step Sf3 is used as the first document or the second document. That is, the communication protocol selected in step Sf3 may be a communication protocol (merge protocol) created from documents specifying multiple communication protocols. Step Sf6 is repeated until the end of use time determined in step Sf5 (step Sf7—No). After the end of use time has passed (step Sf7—Yes), the communication protocol selection function stores the communication protocol selected in step Sf3 as the selection result, terminates use of the communication protocol (step Sf8), and returns to step Sf3.

[0065] In this way, the communication system 1 switches the communication protocol to be used in a time-division manner, which makes it difficult for a third party to understand the content of the communication.

[0066] <Fourth Embodiment> The fourth embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the communication system 1 does not include the vector DB device 40, and the server device 10 and the edge device 20 each include a vector DB unit 41, 42. The server device 10 uses the vector DB unit 41 instead of the vector DB device 40, and the edge device 20 uses the vector DB unit 42 instead of the vector DB device 40, but the rest is the same as the first embodiment. Note that in the fourth embodiment, a merge protocol may be generated and used as in the second embodiment, or the protocol may be changed in a time-division manner as in the third embodiment.

[0067] 10 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a server device 10 and an edge device 20 according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 10, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be omitted. The server device 10 includes a transmission / reception processing unit 11, an LLM processing unit 12, an application processing unit 13, and a vector DB unit 41. The edge device 20 includes a transmission / reception processing unit 21, an LLM processing unit 22, an application processing unit 23, and a vector DB unit 42.

[0068] 1 and 2, the vector DB units 41 and 42 (document storage units) store documents that define the protocols used for communication between the server device 10 and the edge device 20. The LLM processing units 12 and 22 each use the vector DB units 41 and 42 instead of the vector DB device 40.

[0069] Fifth Embodiment The fifth embodiment differs from the fourth embodiment in that the communication system 1 does not include the LLM device 30, and the server device 10 and the edge device 20 each include an LLM unit 31, 32. The server device 10 uses the LLM unit 31 instead of the LLM device 30, and the edge device 20 uses the LLM unit 32 instead of the LLM device 30, but the rest is the same as the fourth embodiment.

[0070] 11 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a server device 10 and an edge device 20 according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 11, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 10 are assigned the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be omitted. The server device 10 includes a transmission / reception processing unit 11, an LLM processing unit 12, an application processing unit 13, an LLM unit 31, and a vector DB unit 41. The edge device 20 includes a transmission / reception processing unit 21, an LLM processing unit 22, an application processing unit 23, an LLM unit 32, and a vector DB unit 42.

[0071] 1 and 2, the LLM units 31 and 32 use a large-scale language model to convert between transmitted and received data and communication packets based on requests from the LLM processing units 12 and 22. Each of the LLM processing units 12 and 22 uses the LLM units 31 and 32 instead of the LLM unit 30. Note that the communication system 1 of this embodiment may include a vector DB unit 40 instead of the vector DB units 41 and 42.

[0072] Sixth Embodiment In the sixth embodiment, the communication system 1 differs from the fifth embodiment in that it includes NPU (Neural Network Processing Unit) units 33 and 34 instead of the LLM units 31 and 32. The server device 10 uses the NPU unit 33 instead of the LLM unit 31, and the edge device 20 uses the NPU unit 34 instead of the LLM unit 32, but the rest is the same as the fifth embodiment.

[0073] FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a server device 10 and an edge device 20 according to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 12, parts corresponding to those in FIG. 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be omitted. The server device 10 according to this embodiment differs from FIG. 11 in that it includes an NPU unit 33 instead of the LLM unit 31. The edge device 20 according to this embodiment also differs from FIG. 11 in that it includes an NPU unit 34 instead of the LLM unit 32. Note that the LLM unit 31 may remain unchanged without replacing it with the NPU unit 33, or the LLM unit 32 may remain unchanged without replacing it with the NPU unit 34, i.e., only either the server device 10 or the edge device 20 may be an NPU unit.

[0074] The NPU units 33 and 34 have the same functions as the LLM units 31 and 32, but are processors (NPUs) specialized for NN (Neural Network) processing, and execute LLM. The NPU may be a processor that performs tensor processing, such as an LPU (Language Processing Unit). This can speed up processing, improve power efficiency, and reduce power consumption.

[0075] FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of each device according to each embodiment. The devices are a server device 10, an edge device 20, an LLM device 30, and a vector DB device 40. Each device includes an input / output module I, a storage module M, and a control module P. The input / output module I includes some or all of the following: a communication module H11, a connection module H12, a pointing device H21, a keyboard H22, a display H23, a button H3, a microphone H41, a speaker H42, a camera H51, and a sensor H52. The storage module M includes a drive H7. The storage module M may further include some or all of a memory H8. The control module P includes a memory H8 and a processor H9. These hardware components are connected to each other via a bus (Bus) and receive power from a power supply H6.

[0076] The connection module H12 is a digital input / output port such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus). The pointing device H21, keyboard H22, and display H23 may be touch panels. The sensor H52 is an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a GPS receiving module, a proximity sensor, or the like. The power supply H6 is a power supply unit that supplies the electricity necessary to operate each device. The power supply H6 may be a battery. The drive H7 is an auxiliary storage medium such as a hard disk drive or a solid-state drive. The drive H7 may be a non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM, a flash memory, or a selector-only memory (SOM), or may be a magneto-optical disk drive or a flexible disk drive. Furthermore, the drive H7 is not limited to being built into each device, but may also be an external storage device connected to a connector of the connection module H12. The memory H8 is a main storage medium such as a random access memory or an HBM (High Bandwidth Memory). The memory H8 may be a cache memory. The memory H8 stores instructions when the instructions are executed by one or more processors H9. The processor H9 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor H9 may be an MPU (Microprocessing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a GPGPU (General-Purpose Computing on Graphics Processing Units), a TPU (Tensor Processing Unit), an NPU (Neural Network Processing Unit), or an LPU (Language Processing Unit). The processor H9 reads out programs and various data from the drive H7 via the memory H8 and performs calculations to execute instructions stored in one or more memories H8.

[0077] The input / output module I is used in the server device 10, edge device 20, LLM device 30, vector DB device 40, etc. The control module P is used to implement each part of the server device 10, edge device 20, LLM device 30, and vector DB device 40. Note that in this specification and the like, the descriptions of the server device 10, edge device 20, LLM device 30, vector DB device 40, or each part thereof may be replaced with the description of the control module P.

[0078] The present disclosure may be embodied as follows: (1) One embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication system including: a first communication device including: a first LLM processing unit that inputs transmission data to an LLM (Large Language Model) and acquires a transmission packet obtained by encoding the transmission data using the LLM; and a transmission unit that transmits the transmission packet acquired by the first LLM processing unit; and a second communication device including: a reception unit that receives the transmission packet transmitted by the transmission unit as a reception packet; and a second LLM processing unit that inputs the reception packet received by the reception unit to the LLM and acquires reception data obtained by decoding the reception packet using the LLM.

[0079] (2) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is the communication system described in (1), in which the first LLM processing unit acquires first document data from a document that defines a communication protocol, associates the acquired first document data with the transmission data and inputs it into the LLM, and the LLM acquires the transmission packet encoded based on the first document data, and the second LLM processing unit searches for and acquires second document data corresponding to the reception packet from the document, associates the acquired second document data with the reception data and inputs it into the LLM, and the LLM acquires the reception data decoded based on the second document data.

[0080] (3) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication system described in (2), in which the document is stored in a vector database, and the second LLM processing unit searches for and obtains the second document data corresponding to the received packet from the document stored in the vector database.

[0081] (4) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is the communication system according to (2) or (3), wherein the document is a private document that defines a private communication protocol.

[0082] (5) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication system described in any one of (2) to (4), wherein the document is a document specifying a merge protocol generated by having the LLM learn documents specifying multiple different communication protocols.

[0083] (6) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication system described in any one of (2) to (5), wherein the documents are a plurality of documents each defining a plurality of mutually different communication protocols, and the first LLM processing unit acquires the first document data from a document selected from the plurality of documents based on the current time.

[0084] (7) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication device comprising: a receiving unit that receives a transmission packet in which an LLM encodes transmission data as a received packet; and an LLM processing unit that inputs the received packet received by the receiving unit to the LLM and obtains received data decoded by the LLM from the received packet.

[0085] (8) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication device comprising: a receiving unit that receives a transmission packet in which transmission data is encoded by an NPU (Neural network Processing Unit) as a received packet; and an LLM processing unit that inputs the received packet received by the receiving unit to the NPU and obtains received data decoded by the NPU from the received packet.

[0086] (9) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication system including a first communication device, a second communication device, and an LLM device, wherein the first communication device includes a first LLM processing unit that inputs transmission data to the LLM device and acquires a transmission packet obtained by the LLM device encoding the transmission data, and a transmission unit that transmits the transmission packet acquired by the first LLM processing unit, and the second communication device includes a receiving unit that receives the transmission packet transmitted by the transmitting unit as a reception packet, and a second LLM processing unit that inputs the reception packet received by the receiving unit to the LLM and acquires reception data obtained by the LLM device decoding the reception packet, and the LLM device is a large-scale language model that encodes the transmission data to generate the transmission packet and decodes the reception packet to generate the reception data.

[0087] (10) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication system described in (9), further comprising a document storage device that stores a document that defines a communication protocol, wherein the first LLM processing unit acquires first document data from the document storage device, associates the acquired first document data with the transmission data and inputs it to the LLM device, and the LLM device acquires the transmission packet encoded based on the first document data, and the second LLM processing unit searches for and acquires second document data corresponding to the reception packet from the document storage device, associates the acquired second document data with the reception data and inputs it to the LLM device, and the LLM device acquires the reception data decoded based on the second document data.

[0088] (11) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication method including an encoding process step of inputting transmission data to an LLM and obtaining a transmission packet obtained by the LLM encoding the transmission data; a transmission step of transmitting the transmission packet obtained in the encoding process step; a reception step of receiving the transmission packet transmitted in the transmission step as a reception packet; and a decoding process step of inputting the reception packet received in the reception step to the LLM and obtaining reception data obtained by the LLM decoding the reception packet.

[0089] (12) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication program that causes a computer to execute an encoding process step of inputting transmission data to an LLM and obtaining a transmission packet obtained by the LLM encoding the transmission data; a transmission step of transmitting the transmission packet obtained in the encoding process step; a reception step of receiving the transmission packet transmitted in the transmission step as a reception packet; and a decoding process step of inputting the reception packet received in the reception step to the LLM and obtaining reception data obtained by the LLM decoding the reception packet.

[0090] 1, 2, 10, 11, and 12, a program for realizing the functions of the server device 10, edge device 20, LLM device 30, and vector DB device 40 may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on this recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed to realize the server device 10, edge device 20, and LLM device 30. Note that the term "computer system" here includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices.

[0091] "Computer-readable recording media" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Furthermore, "computer-readable recording media" also includes devices that dynamically store programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs over networks like the Internet or communication lines like telephone lines, and devices that store programs for a fixed period of time, such as volatile memory within the computer systems that serve as servers or clients. The programs may also be programs that implement some of the aforementioned functions, or may be programs that can realize the aforementioned functions in combination with programs already stored in the computer system.

[0092] The embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes and the like are also included within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of this disclosure.

[0093] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Communication system 10 Server device 11 Transmission / reception processing unit 12 LLM processing unit 13 Application processing unit 20 Edge device 21 Transmission / reception processing unit 22 LLM processing unit 23 Application processing unit 30 LLM device 31, 32 LLM unit 33, 34 NPU unit 40 Vector DB device 41, 42 Vector DB unit

Claims

1. A communication system comprising: a first communication device comprising: a first LLM processing unit that inputs transmission data into an LLM (Large Language Model) and obtains a transmission packet obtained by the LLM encoding the transmission data; and a transmission unit that transmits the transmission packet obtained by the first LLM processing unit; a reception unit that receives the transmission packet transmitted by the transmission unit as a reception packet; and a second LLM processing unit that inputs the reception packet received by the reception unit into the LLM and obtains reception data obtained by the LLM decoding the reception packet.

2. The communication system described in claim 1, wherein the first LLM processing unit acquires first document data from a document that defines a communication protocol, associates the acquired first document data with the transmission data and inputs it into the LLM, and the LLM acquires the transmission packet encoded based on the first document data; the second LLM processing unit searches for and acquires second document data corresponding to the reception packet from the document, associates the acquired second document data with the reception data and inputs it into the LLM, and the LLM acquires the reception data decoded based on the second document data.

3. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein the document is stored in a vector database, and the second LLM processing unit searches for and acquires the second document data corresponding to the received packet from the document stored in the vector database.

4. A communication system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the document is a private document defining a private communication protocol.

5. A communication system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the document is a document defining a merge protocol generated by having the LLM learn documents defining a plurality of mutually different communication protocols.

6. The communication system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the documents are a plurality of documents each defining a plurality of mutually different communication protocols, and the first LLM processing unit acquires the first document data from a document selected from the plurality of documents based on the current time.

7. A communication device comprising: a receiving unit that receives a transmission packet in which an LLM has encoded transmission data as a received packet; and an LLM processing unit that inputs the received packet received by the receiving unit to the LLM and obtains received data decoded by the LLM from the received packet.

8. A communication device comprising: a receiving unit that receives a transmission packet in which transmission data is encoded by an NPU (Neural network Processing Unit) as a received packet; and an LLM processing unit that inputs the received packet received by the receiving unit to the NPU and obtains received data decoded by the NPU from the received packet.

9. A communication system comprising a first communication device, a second communication device, and an LLM device, wherein the first communication device comprises: a first LLM processing unit that inputs transmission data to the LLM device and obtains transmission packets obtained by the LLM device encoding the transmission data; and a transmission unit that transmits the transmission packets obtained by the first LLM processing unit; the second communication device comprises: a receiving unit that receives the transmission packets transmitted by the transmitting unit as received packets; and a second LLM processing unit that inputs the received packets received by the receiving unit to the LLM device and obtains received data obtained by decoding the received packets, and the LLM device is a large scale language model that encodes the transmission data to generate the transmission packets and decodes the received packets to generate the received data.

10. A communication system as described in claim 9, further comprising a document storage device that stores a document that defines a communication protocol, wherein the first LLM processing unit acquires first document data from the document storage device, associates the acquired first document data with the transmission data and inputs it to the LLM device, and the LLM device acquires the transmission packet encoded based on the first document data, and the second LLM processing unit searches for and acquires second document data corresponding to the reception packet from the document storage device, associates the acquired second document data with the reception data and inputs it to the LLM device, and the LLM device acquires the reception data decoded based on the second document data.

11. A communication method comprising: an encoding process step of inputting transmission data to an LLM and obtaining a transmission packet obtained by the LLM encoding the transmission data; a transmission step of transmitting the transmission packet obtained in the encoding process step; a reception step of receiving the transmission packet transmitted in the transmission step as a reception packet; and a decoding process step of inputting the reception packet received in the reception step to the LLM and obtaining reception data obtained by the LLM decoding the reception packet.

12. A communications program that causes a computer to execute the following steps: an encoding process step of inputting transmission data to an LLM and obtaining a transmission packet obtained by the LLM encoding the transmission data; a transmission step of transmitting the transmission packet obtained in the encoding process step; a reception step of receiving the transmission packet transmitted in the transmission step as a reception packet; and a decoding process step of inputting the reception packet received in the reception step to the LLM and obtaining reception data obtained by the LLM decoding the reception packet.

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