Towards converged, collaborative and co-automatic (3C) optical networks

The interconnection of all things is developing a new diagram of future information networks. However, it is difficult to realize future applications with only one single technique. Collaboration between multiple advanced techniques is leading the way for the development of future information networks. Optical communication is an enabling technique to achieve high speed, long reach, and low latency communication, which plays an important role on the transformation of information networks. To achieve these advantages that caters to the characteristics of future information networks, collaboration of multiple advanced techniques with optical, which is called optical plus X, could realize the vision of all things connected with networks. In this paper, we focus on the collaboration between optical networks with other techniques, mainly discuss four representative aspects, which are optical plus IP, optical plus radio, optical plus computing, and optical plus AI. We discuss the challenges, timely works, and developing trends. Finally, we give the future visions for optical network towards a collaborative, converged and co-automatic optical network.