DOCSLIB.ORG

Data Display Programming

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Data Display Programming . .. e -U L -. DATA DISPLAY PROGRAMMING for Gd&d Space Plight Center NATIONALAEROhUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, D. C. SEPTEMBER 1968 NASA CR-1107 TECH LIBRARY KAFB, NM P 0060354 vx DATA DISPLAY PROGRAMMING I Distribution of this report is provided in the interestof informationexchange. Responsibility for thecontents resides in the author or organization that prepared it. ~ /' Prepared under Contract No. NAS 5-9756-47 by WOLF RES,I%W€X€AND DE- COR@3€k#XQ& West Concord, Mass. for Goddard Space Flight Center NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION For sole by the Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and Technical Information Springfield, Virginia 22151 - CFSTI price $3.00 ! . " ABSTRACT The research studies and experimental investigations reported are addressed to the problem of developing more efficient means by which the physical scientist might intimately control the complex data processing operations involved in the analysis and meaningful interpre- tation of large volumes of sensor data from scientific satellites. Areas of computer graphics technology in which pioneering efforts might prove fruitful are defined and approaches conceived. The results of pilot tests to evaluate proposed techniques from a human factors viewpoint are given. Specific techniques include information transfer via uncommon display media (full color; flicker; animation) and approaches to facilitate the use of a single input device as the means of processing control. Specifications are developed for an advanced hardware-software system for manipulating and displaying large volumes of data. A man- computer communication station design is recommended which permits finger pointing as a means of input and peripheral equipment to service the display and input devices. Computer software to support man-com- puter communication is specified using a hierarchical approach. Trade- off guidelines for computer equipment are developed, based on cost and other factors. These guidelines result in a case for the use of individual satellite processors for servicing man-computer communication sta- tions. "I"."". I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was performed and the documentation prepared under the technical direction of T. P. Gorman and D. E. Jamison, GSFC Code 565. Full color computer display equipment and programs were made available for use in the investigations by Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, through the courtesy of Charlton M. Walter, ! Chief, Dynamic Processes Branch. Demonstrations of equipment for evaluation purposes were liberally provided by Control Data Corporation's Digigraphic Labora- tories, Sylvania's Applied Research Laboratory, and the M. I. T. Lincoln Laboratory. State -of -the-art information was generously supplied by Digital Equipment Corporation, Sony Corporation, and R. C. A. Computer equipment information was obtained through the cooperation of I. B. M. , Univac, C.D. C. , G. E. , S. D. S. , and D. E. C. representatives. Principal individual contributors to this effort included R. Bator P. Messing D. Eaton L. Metrick H. French w. Scott W. Jarnagin A. Shortell L. Kunstenaar R. Stonefield J. Meads R. P. Gagan Project Manager V I TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. INTRODUCTION ................... 1 2 . PROBLEMMODELANQ APPROACH ......... .. 2 2.1Telemetry Data Processing ........... 2 2.2 A Man-ComputerApproach ............ 6 2.3Scope of Work ................. 8 3 . THE CONSOLE ................... 12 3 .1 Display3.1 ................... 12 3.1.1Color ................. 14 3.1.2Black and White ............. 17 3.1.3Depth ................. 20 3 . 1.4Display Design Considerations ...... 21 3.1.5Resolution ................ 22 3.1.6 WritingSpeed ..............- 27 3.1.7 HumanFactors ............. 28 3 .2 Input3.2 ..................... 28 3.2.1The Light Symbol ............ 31 3.2.2Devices and Functions .......... 39 3.2.3Light Finger .............. 41 3.3Peripheral Devices ............... 43 3.3.1Display Memory ............ 44 3.3.2Input Device Support ............ 46 3.3.3Character and Vector Generation ..... 47 3.3.4Other Functions ............. 47 3.4Cost Estimate ................. 47 .. SOFTWARE .................... 49 4.1System Software Functions ............’ 49 4.1.1System Initialization ........... 53 4.1.2System Control Operators ........ 55 4.1.3Data Specification Mode .......... 57 4.1.4Create Mode .............. 61 4.1.5Character Set Generation Sub-Mode ..... 63 vii . Page 4 .1 (Con't)4.1 4 . 1.6 MathematicalComputation Sequences DefinitionSub-Mode .......... 65 4 . 1.7Create Graphical Representations Sub-Mode ............... 69 4 . 1. 8 StrategyDefinition Sub-Mode ....... 72 4.1.9Report Generation Sub-Mode ....... 78 4.1.10Analysis Mode ............. 78 4.1.11Sign Off Procedure ........... 83 4.2User Language Processor ............ 87 4.3User-System Conversation ............ 91 4.4Data Files ................... 92 4.4.1Experiment Data Base .......... 92 4.4.2Display Data Base ............ 94 4.4.3User File ............... 94 4.4.4Working File .............. 97 4.5System Approach ................ 97 4.5.1 User Input ............... 98 4.5.2 UserAction Analyzer .......... 98 4.5.3 UserAction Executer .......... 101 4.5.4 Control Display Routines .........102 4.5.5 Communicator ............. 102 4.5.6 DisplaySynthesizer ........... 102 4.5.7 DisplayFile ..............103 4.5.8 SystemResponse ............103 5 . HARDWARE ..................... 104 5.1System Requirements .............. 104 5.1.1 DataFlow Management Subsystem (DMS) . 106 5.1.2 FileManagement Subsystem (FMS) .... 108 5.1.3 ConsoleEquipment ...........111 5 . 1.4 UserLocation ............. 112 5 . 1.5 SystemUsage Requirements ....... 116 5 . 1.6 ComputingPower ............ 117 5.1.7 SystemModularity ........... 120 5.1.8 Software Availability .......... 121 5.2Configuration Models Considered .........124 5.2.1Large Central Processor WithLocal Consoles (Configuration A) ........ 125 viii . _" . Page 5.2(Con't) 5.2.2Large Central Processor, Small Satellite Processor For Each Display Console (Configuration B). .............. 131 5.2.3Non-Integrated System (ConfigurationC) . 137 5.3Configuration Selection Trade-off Guidelines .... 149 5.3.1Configuration A ComparedAgainst The System Requirements ............ 149 5.3.2Configuration B ComparedAgainst The SystemRequirements ............ 154 5.3.3Configuration C ComparedAgainst The System Requirements ............ 159 5.4Summary and Conclusions. .............. 164 6. SUMMARY. ......................... 167 6.1 TheConsole ...................... 167 6.2 Software.6.2 ....................... 169 6.3 Hardware6.3 ....................... 170 REFERENCES .......................... 173 APPENDICES I COLORVALUE DISCRIMINATION MEASURE- MENTS ....................... 1-1 - 6 I1 ON THE USE OFFLICKER AS A.MEDIUM FOR INFORMATIONTRANSFER. ............ 11-1-7 I11 FLICKER DISCRIMINATION INVESTIGATIONS . 111-1 - 9 IV COST COMPARISON, FOCUS-INTENSITY- FLICKER VERSUS COLOR. ............ IV-1- 6 V THREE-DIMENSIONAL DISPLAY ......... v-1 - 5 VITHE LAWRENCE- CHROMATRON GRID DEFLECTIONTUBE ................ VI-1 -4 VII PILOT TESTS OF ON-LINE TECHNIQUES INCOLOR. ..................... VII-1-25 VIII HIGH CAPACITYTONAL DISPLAY ........ VIII-1- 5 Ix RECENTCOLORPHOSPHORSAND ADVANCES IN COLOR CRT TECHNOLOGY. .......... IX-1- 5 ! Pave APPENDICES (Con't) X ON THE USE OF LIGHT SYMBOLS AS A TECH- NIQUE FOR USER INPUT REQUESTS. ....... X-1 -11 XI ALPHABETICINPUT VIA PROBABILITY TYPEWRITER. ................... XI-1 .4 X II PRIMITIVE XII SET TRIALS .............. XII-1 .6 XIIICOMPUTER ANIMATION CONFERENCE REPORT. ...................... XIII-1 .9 XIV MOTION PICTURE CAMERA,CALIBRATION. ...XIV-1 .5 xv FUNCTIONGENERATED DISPLAYS ........ XV-1- 2 XVION-LINE PROGRAMMING. .............XVI-1 -6 X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF A TELEMETRY SYSTEM 3 2 DATA PROCESSING & ANALYSIS ACTIVITIES 5 3 SEQUENCE OF MAN-COMPUTER DIALOGUE FOR TELEMETRY DATA INTERPRETATION 9 4 PROCESS FLOW AND SYSTEM ORGANIZATION 11 5 VISUAL INFORMATION CODING MODALITIES 13 6 CLASSICAL COLOR SOLID 14 7 COLOR PROGRAMMING SOLID 15 8 RELATIVE CODING POWER MAP FOR THE COLOR CUBE 16 9 RELATIVE CODING POWER OF FOCUS- INTENSITY -FLICKER 18 10 FAMILY OF DEPTH CODING TECHNIQUES 20 11 A DISPLAY CONSOLE 30 12 GEOMETRIC LIGHT SYMBOL AND CODE MEANINGS 32 13 GAS PEDAL LIGHT SYMBOLAND EXPLANATORY NOTES 32 . 14 A DATA PLOT 33 15 CURVE FITTING 33 16 GPAK WINDOW CONTROL LIGHT SYMBOLS 35 17 GFS VALUE CONTROL LIGHT SYMBOLS 36 18 SYSTEM MODES OF OPERATION 50 19 EXPERIMENT IDENTIFICATION 54 20 SYSTEM STATUS INFORMATION 56 21 DATA SPECIFICATION MODE 58 22 DATA EDITING SUB-MODE 60 23 CREATE MODE 62 24 CHARACTER SET GENERATION SUB-MODE 64 25 MATHEMATICAL COMPUTATION DEFINITION SUB-MODE 66 xi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS (Con't) Figure Page 26 GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION DEFINITION 71 SUB-MODE 27 STRATEGY DEFINITION SUB-MODE 73 28 STRATEGY DEFINITION SUB-MODE, DISPLAY SEQUENCES 74 29 STRATEGY DEFINITION SUB-MODE, COMPU- TATION SEQUENCES 77 30 REPORT GENERATION SUB-MODE 79 31 ANALYSIS MODE 80 32 SIGN-OFF FIRST FORMAT 84 33 SIGN-OFF SECOND FORMAT 85 34 SIGN-OFF FINAL FORMAT 86 35 HIERARCHICAL MAKEUP OF TYPICAL ANALYSIS FILE 88 36 A STRATEGY AND ITS CONNECTIONS TO SYSTEM SOFTWARE 89 37 EXPERIMENT DATA BASE ORGANIZATION 93 38 TREE STRUCTURE OF USER FILES 95 39 SYSTEM APPROACH (FMS) 99 40 USE MATRIX FOR SUB-MODES OF OPERATION 100 41 FMS/DMS SYSTEM FUNCTIONAL DIAGRAM 105 42 COMMUNICATIONS COST AND DATA SCANNING RATES FROM REMOTE CONSOLES 114 43 A T & T INTERSTATE VOICE GRADE TOLL CHARGES 115 44 SYSTEM FEATURES/SYSTEM CONSIDERA-
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 4010, 237 8514, 226 80486, 280 82786, 227, 280 a AA. See Anti-Aliasing (AA) Abacus, 16 Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), 219 Acce
    Index 4010, 237 AIB. See Add-in board (AIB) 8514, 226 Air traffic control system, 303 80486, 280 Akeley, Kurt, 242 82786, 227, 280 Akkadian, 16 Algebra, 26 Alias Research, 169 Alienware, 186 A Alioscopy, 389 AA. See Anti-aliasing (AA) All-In-One computer, 352 Abacus, 16 All-points addressable (APA), 221 Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), 219 Alpha channel, 328 AccelGraphics, 166, 273 Alpha Processor, 164 Accel-KKR, 170 ALT-256, 223 ACM. See Association for Computing Altair 680b, 181 Machinery (ACM) Alto, 158 Acorn, 156 AMD, 232, 257, 277, 410, 411 ACRTC. See Advanced CRT Controller AMD 2901 bit-slice, 318 (ACRTC) American national Standards Institute (ANSI), ACS, 158 239 Action Graphics, 164, 273 Anaglyph, 376 Acumos, 253 Anaglyph glasses, 385 A.D., 15 Analog computer, 140 Adage, 315 Anamorphic distortion, 377 Adage AGT-30, 317 Anatomic and Symbolic Mapper Engine Adams Associates, 102 (ASME), 110 Adams, Charles W., 81, 148 Anderson, Bob, 321 Add-in board (AIB), 217, 363 AN/FSQ-7, 302 Additive color, 328 Anisotropic filtering (AF), 65 Adobe, 280 ANSI. See American national Standards Adobe RGB, 328 Institute (ANSI) Advanced CRT Controller (ACRTC), 226 Anti-aliasing (AA), 63 Advanced Remote Display Station (ARDS), ANTIC graphics co-processor, 279 322 Antikythera device, 127 Advanced Visual Systems (AVS), 164 APA. See All-points addressable (APA) AED 512, 333 Apalatequi, 42 AF. See Anisotropic filtering (AF) Aperture grille, 326 AGP. See Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) API. See Application program interface Ahiska, Yavuz, 260 standard (API) AI.
    [Show full text]
  • Cad History Bypramit
    CAD HISTORY CAD HISTORY BY PRAMIT :-- Some time ago, CAD was created. Then there was gaming. It was good. Now it is today. There is probably some gaming going on today. If there is, it is good. A very brief history of CAD development is listed 1. 1940s - First digital computer developed 2. 1950s - Commercial computers become available 3. 1955 - CRTs begin being used in military projects 4. 1957 - APT II (Automatic Programmed Tool) developed for generating NC control. Automated NC used in industry. 5. 1959 - Stromberk Carlson develops a system to interpret graphics on tape, then output them to a screen, or print on special paper 6. 1963 - Ivan Sutherland presents a paper on "Sketchpad" which allows interactive graphics 7. 1965 - Lockheed introduces a CAD/CAM system, and a FEM system. McDonnell introduces CADD 8. 1966 - Business world sees Wall Street Journal title "Electronic Sketching; Engineers Focus on Screen to Design Visually via Computer; Keyboard Enlarges, Rotates `Drawings'; Lockheed, GM Enthusiastic About Uses" 9. 1971 - David Prince writes first book on computer graphics 10. 1975 - ICAM (Integrated Computer Aided Manufacturing) project is begun by US Airforce 11. 1976 - Color raster graphics technology begins to develop. 12. 1979 - Development of IGES begins 13. 1980 - Introduction of PCs revolutionizes all markets 14. 1980s - Solid Modeling on UNIX 15. 1990s - Solid Modeling on low end systems 26 years ago, nearly every drawing produced in the world was done with pencil or ink on paper. Minor changes meant erasing and redrawing while major changes often meant recreating the drawing from the scratch. If a change to one drawing affected other documents you were dependent upon having someone manually recognize the need to make the changes to the other drawings and to do so.
    [Show full text]
  • Report R E S U M E S
    REPORT R E S U M E S ED 011 862 SE 001 762 PROCEEDINGS ON THE CONFERENCE ON THE IMPACT OF COMPUTERS ON EDUCATION IN ENGINEERING DESIGN (CHICAGO, APRIL.2123,1966), B Y- FENVES STEVEN J. AND OTHERS COMMISSION ON ENGINEERING EDUC., WASHINGTON, D.C. PUB DATE 66 EORS PRICE MFS0.27 HC -$7.20 160P. D ESCRIPTORS- *CONFERENCE REPORTS, *CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT, *ENGINEERING EDUCATION, *TECHNICAL EDUCATION, COMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTION, EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, INSTRUCTION, INFORMATION RETRIEVAL, SCIENCE EDUCATION, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, CHICAGO, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PAPERS PRESENTED AT A 1966 CONFERENCE ON ENGINEERING EDUCATION ARE INCLUDED IN THIS CONFERENCE REPORT. THE CONFERENCE WAS PRIMARILY CONCERNED WITH THE IMPACT OF COMPUTERS ON EDUCATION IN ENGINEERING DESIGN. PARTICIPANTS WERE FACULTY MEMBERS FROM SCHOOLS OF ENGINEERING, WO HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR COURSE AND CURRICULUM DESIGN..A LONG -RANGE OBJECTIVE WAS TO SET DIRECTIONS FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND RESEARCH IN DESIGN AND ANALYSIS, WHEREVER THE LATTER WAS EXPECTED TO CHANGE UNDER THE IMPACT OF COMPUTER CONCEPTS. SESSIONS OF THE CONFERENCE WERE DEVOTED TO (1) APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING DESIGN,(2) COMPUTERS IN ENGINEERING DESIGN AT UNIVERSITIES, (3) A MANUFACTURERS FORUM, AND (4) FUTURE PROSPECTS AND REQUIREMENTS. SUMMARIES OF DISCUSSIONS THAT FOLLOWED PRESENTATIONS OF PAPERS ARE INCLUDED. (AG) THE COMMISSION ON ENGINEERING EDUCATION NFVJ 1-1ANIPcsHIPF AVFNIIc- N Vv 1A/AL_uIr. T rl u r \ 4 , I .-c , I, / - 't k' _ 1 r 1 1 1 1 1 ' " I ' 1 1 1 , I 1 ' , 1 I 1 1 ' 1 1 1 I I, . II A PRECEDING PAGEBLANK1101E1MM Program and Table ofContents Section A OPENING SESSION CHAIRMAN: S.
    [Show full text]
  • Research and Development in the Computer and Information Sciences
    A11 100989830 NBS-PUB-C 1 ST5°5l"v'^113;1-3;197 C.1 Standaras national Bureau of Bldg. Ubrary, E-01 Admin. NBS MONOGRAPH 113, VOLUME 1 Standards Nationsi Bureau of JUL 2 8 1972 : /120S OS. I to Research and Development in the Computer and Information Sciences Volume 1. Information Acquisition, Sensing, and Input— U.S. A Selective Literature Review (ITMENT OF l/IMERCE National Bureau of tandards NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS The National Bureau of Standards ' was established by an act of Congress March 3, 1901. Today, in addition to serving as the Nation's central measurement laboratory, the Bureau is a principal focal point in the Federal Government for assuring maximum application of the physical and engineering sciences to the advancement of technology in industry and commerce. To this end the Bureau conducts research and provides central national services in four broad program areas. These are: (1) basic measurements and standards, (2) materials measurements and standards, (3) technological measurements and standards, and (4) transfer of technology. The Bureau comprises the Institute for Basic Standards, the Institute for Materials Research, the Institute for Applied Technology, the Center for Radiation Research, the Center for Computer Sciences and Technology, and the Office for Information Programs. THE INSTITUTE FOR BASIC STANDARDS provides the centra! basis within the United States of a complete and consistent system of physical measurement; coordinates that system with measurement systems of other nations; and furnishes essential
    [Show full text]
  • British Tabulating Company 6 • What 'Back to the Future II' Got Right About Tech in 2015 Coming Events 7
    Volunteer Information Exchange Sharing what we know with those we know Volume 5 Number 10 October 26, 2015 Contribute To The VIE Kate McGregor sends us news of a new leader for the docents—Katharina McAllister is the new Manager of Interpretive Volunteers as of October 6. Welcome Katharina. We look forward to working with you. Sometimes you get lucky. There is an excellent computer museum in Roswell, Georgia near Atlanta, CHM Blog the Computer Museum of America. It is not open to Recent CHM Blog Entries the public but I got lucky. I hope that in time all of us will be that lucky. Kirsten Tashev keeps us up-to-date on new CHM blog entries. Herman Hollerith's idea and equipment were “game changers” for the 1890 census and for the world. But • In honor of Ada Lovelace day, A new he could not not stand still. He had to continue to guest blog from Ada Lovelace expert, Dr. evolve his equipment in order to get into the private Betty Toole sector. The period from 1896 to 1907 was one of great • Senior Archives Manager, Sara Lott, change in Hollerith's fledgling company. writes about an exciting new processing In the past, I have said things like, “Boy that's a project underway at the Computer Mickey Mouse computer!” But we recently acquired a History Museum real Mickey Mouse computer. Chris Garcia tells us about it. Thanks, Chris. Finally, A visitor story about the early days of disk in the UK. And, as always, thanks to all you for keeping those stories, articles etc.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of Visual Magic in Computers
    The History of Visual Magic in Computers Jon Peddie The History of Visual Magic in Computers How Beautiful Images are Made in CAD, 3D, VR and AR 123 Jon Peddie Jon Peddie Research Tiburon, CA USA ISBN 978-1-4471-4931-6 ISBN 978-1-4471-4932-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4471-4932-3 Springer London Heidelberg New York Dordrecht Library of Congress Control Number: 2013939972 © Springer-Verlag London 2013 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
    [Show full text]
  • October, 1967 L9Z1N* OONVN~3~ NVS ~ 13~~VW ~010 !Jjr:W71 ~·O
    £11~6 V) 3S0r NVS October, 1967 L9Z1N* OONVN~3~ NVS ~ 13~~VW ~010 !JJr:W71 ~·o. 1.1. £,07 T ')~ SlV) 100 Hl3d VV SAN JOSE PUBLIC LIBRAR' CD Time Sharing in Action t t .. • 65 -because The Kelly-Springfield Tire )m each of the 26 warehouses Company gets the right tire to the lared for factory production right place at the right time, with a ling. modern communications and datE resu It: I nformation flow is processing system, that's why not more accurate. Customers And they sell over 2600 differen· best possible service, every­ sizes and types of tires in the U.S. in the Kelly-Springfield mar- Canada and 66 other countries. world. Here's how the system works: a nore information, call your each warehouse Bell System Tele lephone Business Office and CR type ' machines use master tape! a talk with one of our Com­ to enter standard information or Itions Consultants. And don't customers and their purchases e to call us early-because while the variable sale informatior 'y we can serve you best. is typed in manually. The machine! 1 you work with data commu­ make printed orders and by-produc lS, work with the Bell System. r r SAN J09~ PUBLIC LISRAllv ONE S'GM~ ClJf\t\PUTeR lS <90' Ne To HANOL-.E A~L.. THE TEl--1:Me-rRY fRoM POS6\lX'N f~'6HTS. minimize the noise, edit and compress the data, merge the three tapes into one optimized record, and sort the infor­ mation into measurement strings with time correlation.
    [Show full text]
  • The First Commercial CAD System
    Chapter 6 The First Commercial CAD System Author’s note: After receiving my MS degree in civil engineering from MIT, I was employed by Charles W. Adams Associates and worked as a lead programmer on the system described in this chapter from June 1961 until March 1962. After two years in the U.S. Army, I returned to the company and was involved in a number of other graphics related projects until July 1969. Although there was a moderate amount of academic work underway by 1960 in applying computers to engineering design tasks, little of this work involved interactive graphics. What research work that was underway was not being done with the intent to produce commercial systems. The roots of today's CAD technology go back to the 1950s and the U.S. Air Force's SAGE project described in Chapter 3. The SAGE system, designed by MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, spawned several important technologies including high performance computers, large magnetic core memories and interactive computer graphics. SAGE involved the use of CRT displays to show computer processed radar data and other information such as the location of defensive weapons. Using a light-gun device an operator could identify a specific threat and then select a defensive weapon such as an interceptor aircraft or missile to assign to that threat. Not only did SAGE result in an effective defense system, but it gave rise to a new generation of technology enterprises. Ken Olsen, one of the key SAGE program managers left Lincoln Lab employment to start Digital Equipment Corporation, Norm Taylor went to work in a senior management role at Itek Corporation, a manufacturer of high quality optical equipment for the defense establishment located in Lexington, Massachusetts and Jack Gilmore co-founded with Charles Adams, another early Whirlwind associate, one of the earliest software consulting firms, Charles W.
    [Show full text]
  • 4 Research in the Second Half of the 1960S
    Chapter 4 Research in the Mid to Late 1960s While the early 1960s saw the first experimental CAD systems such as Sutherland’s Sketchpad, Itek’s Electronic Drafting Machine and General Motors DAC-1, the latter part of the decade saw a burst of research activity that laid the foundation for the eventual commercialization of this technology. Obviously, dedicated mainframe computers such as the TX-2 used by Sutherland would not be practical for commercial systems. Likewise, given the limited processing power of the then available computers, much of the graphics processing needed to be offloaded to the display terminals themselves as well as the memory for refreshing displayed images. This period of time saw the development of three important devices that eventually spurred the introduction of commercial CAD systems - the storage tube display, the minicomputer and the tablet. Development of the tablet as a light pen alternative As interest in computer graphics began to grow, so to did the interest in developing a low-cost graphical input device to replace the light pen. The latter device was somewhat expensive and required users to keep their hands raised while working. Although the light pen had the advantage of being able to directly select a displayed item, many researchers felt that it was an awkward way to work and began to look for an alternative technology, especially one that might be less expensive. One of the first indirect pointing devices was the RAND tablet developed by Santa Monica, California-based RAND Corporation in 1964 working under a contract from the Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency in Washington.
    [Show full text]
  • Computers Avail­ :'II Data's 6000 Series
    November, 1967 CD ~uters and automation - GRAPHIC DATA PROCESSING PERIODICALS SEC 1263 47411 , SAN J SE PU8L lIBRARY .0104 -, ~ARKFT & SAN FfRNANDO *N1267 ~ SAN JOSE CA 95113 t' COttPU1'CHS idH' AU'l~O~iA'rlON f~ 0 V E. N 15 CH, l '2 {3? .65 )igigraphics display with the :essor and user programs. , which is /lOW in operation, )Iete set of FORTRAN calls ace with the user programs 3r display requirements. raphics 270 System operates II Data 3000-series compu­ >vide a complete, flexible, j graphics capability. The :; 274 System can be oper- complete system with the lomical CONTROL DATA@ CONTROL DATA ,n be used as a satellite to Jlti-console access to the Digigraphics® it powerful computers avail­ :'II Data's 6000 series. 270 and 274 etails about today's most Imputer graphics systems, Control Data sales office ctly to: OL DATA ORATION .-----MINNEAPOLIS. MINN. 55440 Our new CRT computer terminal makes all other graphics systems suddenly look like Theda Bara vamping Rudolph Valentino. Nostalgic, maybe, but very, very obsolete. D WE JUST The difference is that the Adage Graphics Terminal is a fully-integrated general-purpose system. It has its own internal computer and is delivered complete with operating software-for communicating with the remote central OBSOLETED computer and for local i mage control and console I/O. D Hybrid processing techniques exclusive with Adage (our Ambilog 200 hybrid computer is standard IV in every terminal) produce dynamic displays of 3-dimensional objects which really EVERYBODII move continuously. Pictures are bright and clear. Even complex images don't flicker.
    [Show full text]