The Wang Professional Image Computer: A New Dimension to Personal and Off ice Computing Invited Paper The Wang ProfessionalImage Computer (PIC) offers image 2. Real-time performance required in many applications processing technology at the desktop level. The PIC can capture, (such as theoffice) was not possible due to the create, display,alter, store, retrieve, and transmit images in real time. Theseimages can also be merged with text. With PIC, the limited speeds of the available microcomputers. ability toprocess data, words, and images and to communicate that 3. The memory capacity required farexceeded that information locally or remotely within Wang’s family of compatible available on the small machines. office products is now available in asingle workstation. In this 4. Permanent storage of such large amounts of data was paper, we presenta description of the Wang PIC. Thesystem‘s very expensive. technical features, architpure, hardwareand software compo- nents, functions, and applications are discussed and illustrated. Now, the Wang Professional Image Computer (PIC), shown in Fig. 1 offers image processing technology at the desktop level. I. INTRODUCTION Based on the Wang Professional Computer (PC), the PIC Office automation is based on the development and includes: a desktop, camera-like scanner to digitize images application of six technologies [I] from a sheet of paper; a high-resolution monitor capable of displaying the image; and a desktop thermal printer capable 1. DataProcessing of printing the image.The PIC image processing software 2. Word Processing permits users to scan, digitize, create, display, alter, store, 3. ImageProcessing retrieve, and transmit images. These images can be merged 4. Audio Processing with text. The PIC can handle image information that in- 5. Networking cludes pictures, handwritten notes, margin notations on 6. Human Factors correspondence, drawings, as well as text. With PIC, the In spite of all the office automation products available abilityto process images, words, and data, and tocom- today, the user’s needs for image processing capabilities municate and transmit that information locally or remotely and advanced systems integration have not yet been met within Wang’s entire family of compatible officeproducts is [2]-[6]:The storage of and access to written information now available in a single workstation. which comes into an organization from the “outside world” The PIC is an integration of the six technologies on one is still a manual process, even if the organization has office system. With its imaging capabilities, the PIC is more than a automation equipments. Companies that produce docu- personal computer, more than an image storage and retri- ments that require input from many different sources need eval device, more than a facsimile machine, and more than to have the ability to create, modify, and transmit docu- a management workstation. It is a synergistic computer ments with images quickly and efficiently. with all the fundamental features adding up to make it a Traditionally, computermanipulation of imageswas a superior office automation tool. task that only large machines could accomplish [7], [8] The next section gives a brief description of the Wang PC because of the following reasons: on which the PIC is based. Section Ill presents an overview of the PIC, Sections IV, V, and VI give detailed description 1. Dealing withdigitized imagesmeans manipulating of the PIC hardware and software components, the archi- huge amounts of data (several million bits per image) tecture, and the applications. which was beyond the capabilities of small machines. 11. WANC PC Manuscript received November 18, 1983; revised December 15, The Wang PC [9] is a key element in our overall office 1983. The authors are with Wang Laboratories Inc., Lowell, MA 01851, automation strategy. its main characteristics are summarized USA. in Table 1. The Wang PCuses an Intel 16-bit 8086 micro- M)18-9219/84/03oO-O300$01 .oO GI 984 IEEE 300 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 72, NO. 3, MARCH 1984 -'-' Fig. 1. A PIC photograph. Table 1 Wang Professional Computer Summary Standard Optional Processor 8086 16-bit microprocessor 8087 numeric dataprocessor Memory 128-kbyte RAM 128 kbytes, 256kbytes, or 512 kbytesfor a total of up to 640 kbytes Storage 320-kbyte diskette drive 2nd320-kbyte diskette drive or 5-Mbyte fixed Winchester drive Communications RS-232C adapterAsynchronous Communications: TTY 2236DW terminal emulation Synchronous Communications: 2780/3780/WPC protocol Emulation of the following terminals: vs 2246s v5 2256C 01s 5536-4 ALLIANCE 5536-4 Operating system Microsoft DOS CP/M 80 emulator Languages Microsoft BASIC-86 Microsoft BASIC compiler interpreter Microsoft COBOL Microsoft FORTRAN Microsoft Pascal Applications Wang PC-Word Processing PC Database PC Multiplan Third party general business applications Printer Parallel printer 20 CPS Daisy connector 80 CPS Matrix Third party parallel printers Third party serial printers Monitor Wang Monochrome Display with Character or Character and Graphics capabilities, or a customer-supplied.NTSC B & W or color television, or B & W or RCB color monitor WANC el dl.: WANC PROFESSIONAL IMAGE COMPUTER 301 Fig. 2. Wang PC processor block diagram. processor running at up to 8 MHz; an optional 8-MHz 8087 system has a user interface designed to be used by the co-processor can be installed for high-performance numeric professional. The system is interactive and menu driven. data processing. The 8086 and its 8087 co-processor com- The system has an Extended Programmable Communica- municate with each other via a local interprocessor bus. tion Interface (EPCI) which is programmed by the 8086 to Both processors communicate with memory and 1/0 com- support RS-232C asynchronous serial data communications ponents via the system bus by means of addresslatches, in full or half-duplex mode. It also has a Parallel Peripheral data transceivers, and a bus controller chip. The processor Interface Chip (PPI) which implementsthe Parallel I/O block diagram is shown in Fig. 2. interface. The floppy disk controller (FDC) operates one or Thesystem board memory includes 128 kbytes of dy- two 5.25-in double-sided, double-density, floppy disk drives namic RAM that canstore system programs, application recorded at 48 tracks/in (320-kbytes). The diskette drive is programs,or data. The 64-kbit RAM chips that are used enclosed in the lightweight, compact enclosure. have 200-nsaccess time and 350-ns cycle time, achieving high memory array density at reasonable cost. An optional Ill. OVERVIEWOF THE PIC extended memory board augments the 128 kbytes of stan- The PIC is a highly integrated office product designed to dard system memory with 128,256, or 512 kbytes of ex- capture, manage, and communicate various forms of infor- tended dynamic RAM with parity check. The four-channel mation, including image,text, data, and voice. With its DMA Controller(Direct Memory Access) allocates one extensive communications and networking capabilities, the channel for dynamic RAM refresh, leaving three channels PIC is also a multifunction workstation which can be linked available for general use. It transfers only byte data, not to other Wang systems, including the VS, OIS, and Alliance. word data. The maximum DMA transfer rate is 300 kbytes/s. The PIC'S design is based upon the Wang PC. The imaging The controller is programmed for rotating priority to give capabilities enable several operations: scan, display, alter, every channel equal access to the system bus. The system integrate with structured and unstructured information, bus provides 16 bidirectional datalines, 20address lines, store, retrieve, and communicate. These capabilities are and miscellaneous control signals. The 8086 is normally the enabled by compatible plug-in controller cards and add-on bus master; it relinquishes the bus and grants it to the DMA imaging components and imaging software. Required and controller or the 8087 when either device requests a bus optional system components are summarized in Table 2. cycle. A programmable interrupt controller provides eight Fig. 3 shows the data flow inthe PIC, while Fig. 4 shows the levels of maskable priority interrupts. PIC system cards and connections. The PC comes with a separate and detachable, ergonomi- cally designed keyboard. The keyboard contains adedi- Iv. PIC HARDWARE cated microprocessor that accepts commands from the 8086 while retrieving both keyboard statusdata and keystroke The major hardware components that upgrade the Wang data. The PC's operating system is the Microsoft Disk Oper- PC into a PICare the image scanner, the thermal or laser ating System (MSDOS), which is a 16-bit industry standard printer, the camera/printer interface card, the high-resolu- operating system. As enhanced by Wang, this operating tion monitor, and the CRT controller. 302 PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 72, NO. 3, MARCH 1984 Table 2 PIC System Required and Optional Hardware and Software Required Optional Required Hardware PC chassis-8-slot OR 5-slot Scanner/Printer Card 512-kbyte Memory Expansion Card Image Scanner 10-Mbyte Winchester Disk and Controller Wang Thermal Printer Card LIS-I2 Laser Imaging System Text/lmage/Graphics Card Local Communications Option Wang Image Monitor Local Interconnect Option PC Keyboard Remote Communications Ootion Software: ImageProcessing Integrated Word Processing Image Composition Integrated Notebook Integrated Database Image Forms-Fill W L WNCHESER MSK CCD CAMERA uu n L Fig. 3. PICdata flow diagram. The Image Scanner the camera design. It gives the user the ability to easily scan thick material, such as books or magazines, and sections of The PIC image scanner, pictured in Fig. 5, is a desktop oversize material, such as engineering drawings or blue- scanning device used toinput images intothe PIC. It prints. It makes it easy for a user to target in on a specific consists of a flat base uponwhich the material to be area, and to point toor write on the document while it is in scanned is placed face up.