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Videotex joint venture
US firms crosslicense SRAMs Agreements between US firms Lattice Semiconductor and Synertek mean that Lattice can use Synertek's wafer-fabrication plant in California. In exchange Synertek gets a licence to make Lattice's 64k static RAM and access to the progress technology for producing it. The two firms will also cross-license and second-source future products designed to the static RAM process. 'Synertek's facility is one of the best in the world and has the kind of wafer-stepper resources and equipment necessary to build our parts,' said president of Lattice, Rahul Sud. 'Access to Synertek's capacity gives Lattice early and substantial production capabilities before our own facility turns on next year.' Lattice's first production plant, scheduled to open in 1985, will use wafer-stepper lithography and dryplasma etching to process 6-in silicon wafers.
Videotex joint venture Videotex software is to be developed jointly by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) and Aregon of the UK. The package will be based on Aregon's IVS-3 product, and will be known as IVS5. It will run on AT&T's videotex terminals and frame creation systems. 'We chose Aregon's software because its extensive features provided the depth and quality we wanted to offer in a software product,' said AT&T director of consumer information services, Clarence Selin Jr.
AT&T machines will operate IVS5 on the North American presentation level protocol syntax (NAPLPS). A version for the U K Prestel standard is also planned. Aregon employs only 90 people. The firm was launched in 1979 by the UK National Enterprise Board (now the British Technology Group) and was later bought by Pearce Technology. Its brief was to exploit international markets for UK software. Having identified videotex as a key market area, Aregon released IVS-3 in 1980. Total 1983 sales byAregon were £3.5M and targetted sales for 1984 are £4.5M.
'Robots will protect US homes,' says report The home robot slave market in the USA will be worth over $400M by 1994, says a report. However, research firm IRD believes that the market will not achieve a significant size until the late 1980s. The present generation of home robots are little more than playmates, judges the report. However, the next generation will include home security features.
Doberman attack robots may be on the consumer market by the late 1980s
'The Doberman robot - - a robot which can attack and injure an intruder - - is likely to appear on the consumer market by the end of this decade,' predicts IRD's Lawrence Gasman. He foresees 'big, big problems' in dealing with the legal and liability aspects of such machines. However, he believes that 'a solid market segment of the superrich and super-paranoid' could lead to shipments of tens of thousands of these 'attack robots' in the early 1990s. A third generation of home robots is expected to follow the Doberman era. These will be able to carry out a limited number of cleaning and related tasks, eg mowing the lawn. The IRD report does not see ordinary families having a large demand for cleaning robots for several years, not until cleaning peripherals become good enough or cheap enough. Still, third-generation robots will have a large market in households that need the security and entertainment functions that these robots perform as well as their cleaning duties, says the report. The study also includes a look at personal robots in education, for hobbyists, for the old and handicapped and for industry and commerce. The personal robot market, price $1650, can be obtained from IRD, 6 Prowitt Street, Norwalk, CT 06855, USA.
390
microprocessors and microsystems
Videotex joint venture Videotex software is to be developed jointly by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) and Aregon of the UK. The package will be based on Aregon's IVS-3 product, and will be known as IVS5. It will run on AT&T's videotex terminals and frame creation systems. 'We chose Aregon's software because its extensive features provided the depth and quality we wanted to offer in a software product,' said AT&T director of consumer information services, Clarence Selin Jr.
AT&T machines will operate IVS5 on the North American presentation level protocol syntax (NAPLPS). A version for the U K Prestel standard is also planned. Aregon employs only 90 people. The firm was launched in 1979 by the UK National Enterprise Board (now the British Technology Group) and was later bought by Pearce Technology. Its brief was to exploit international markets for UK software. Having identified videotex as a key market area, Aregon released IVS-3 in 1980. Total 1983 sales byAregon were £3.5M and targetted sales for 1984 are £4.5M.
'Robots will protect US homes,' says report The home robot slave market in the USA will be worth over $400M by 1994, says a report. However, research firm IRD believes that the market will not achieve a significant size until the late 1980s. The present generation of home robots are little more than playmates, judges the report. However, the next generation will include home security features.
Doberman attack robots may be on the consumer market by the late 1980s
'The Doberman robot - - a robot which can attack and injure an intruder - - is likely to appear on the consumer market by the end of this decade,' predicts IRD's Lawrence Gasman. He foresees 'big, big problems' in dealing with the legal and liability aspects of such machines. However, he believes that 'a solid market segment of the superrich and super-paranoid' could lead to shipments of tens of thousands of these 'attack robots' in the early 1990s. A third generation of home robots is expected to follow the Doberman era. These will be able to carry out a limited number of cleaning and related tasks, eg mowing the lawn. The IRD report does not see ordinary families having a large demand for cleaning robots for several years, not until cleaning peripherals become good enough or cheap enough. Still, third-generation robots will have a large market in households that need the security and entertainment functions that these robots perform as well as their cleaning duties, says the report. The study also includes a look at personal robots in education, for hobbyists, for the old and handicapped and for industry and commerce. The personal robot market, price $1650, can be obtained from IRD, 6 Prowitt Street, Norwalk, CT 06855, USA.
390
microprocessors and microsystems