Objective
The DIDAMES project will demonstrate the application of local and wide-area broadband communications within a distributed industrial design and manufacturing system for electronic sub-assemblies.
The aim of the research was to demonstrate the application of local and wide area broadband communications within a distributed industrial design and manufacturing system for electronic subassemblies. Key issues in the research included:
modelling, designing and setting up a pilot applicable to virtually all distributed printed circuit board (PCB) computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) processes;
the determination of the quality of the integrated broadband communication (IBC) services necessary;
analysing security requirements and implementing appropriate security mechanisms;
the determination and provision of the user interfaces required;
the utilization (and integration) of standard document interchange formats;
establishing present limitations of existing networks and (international) interworking capabilities;
preserving optimum portability;
demonstrating the potential managerial efficiency improvements achievable through this application.
Two demonstration models of the application pilot were made available. The early demonstrator was based on broadband technology and served to demonstrate the potential of broadband technology for realizing high quality printed circuit (PC) integrated videoconferencing. The second demosnstration model was based on narrowband technology and provided a low cost solution to PC integrated videoconferencing. As a consequence, virtually all communications technologies are suitable for the system. In addition, the system has been augmented by the most advanced security technology in order to be protected against listening/falsification attacks. These integral security mechanisms are based on advanced chip card technology using encryption/decryPtion by the Ricest-Shamir-AdlemAn (DES) and RSA algorithms.
Technical Approach
With rapid technological developments having severe cost implications, there is an urgent need to support the decentralisation and geographical distribution of the design and manufacturing processes for integrated circuits, multi-layer printed circuit boards and electronic sub-assemblies. Geographical separation of design, manufacturing and other tasks requires remote access to data for design, manufacturing and test activities. In addition, totally new control structures and mechanisms are required to synchronise the distributed design and manufacturing tasks with customer orders.
The proposed distributed application uses high performance international communication links, such as would be provided by IBC, and demonstrates the integration of video and voice to support interactive CAD-CAM applications. This will generate substantial bursts of data traffic on a wide area network. Whenever available bandwidth turns out to be a bottle- neck, very advanced data compression techniques will be applied. This permits the DIDAMES system to also be supported by narrowband communication links, when no broadband communications are available.
The project also demonstrates the usefulness of international technical and document oriented data interchange standards (such as ODA, STEP) and other international agreements on communications, user interfaces and security issues (such as X-Windows, OSF/Motif, TELETRUST).
The DIDAMES project ends in February 1992.
Key issues
. Modelling, designing and setting-up a pilot applicable to virtually all distributed PCB-CAD/CAM processes.
. Determination of the quality of IBC services necessary.
. Analysing security requirements and implementing appropriate security mechanisms.
. Determination and provision of user interfaces required.
. Utilisation (and integration) of standard document interchange formats.
. Establishing present limitations of existing networks and (international) interworking capabilities.
. Preserving optimum portability.
. Demonstrating the potential managerial efficiency improvements achievable through this application.
Achievements
Two demonstrators of the DIDAMES application pilot have been made available. The early demonstrator was based on broadband technology and served to demonstrate the potential of broadband technology for realising high- quality PC-integrated videoconferencing. This was successfully demonstrated at several international fairs and exhibitions, such as the CeBIT fair in Hannover and the SYSTEMS fair in Munich.
The current demonstrator is based on narrowband technology and provides a low-cost solution to PC- integrated videoconferencing. As a consequence, virtually all communications technologies are suitable for the DIDAMES system (B-ISDN, ISDN, FDDI, Ethernet, ...). In addition to this, the DIDAMES system has been augmented by most advanced security technology in order to be protected against listening/falsification attacks. These integral security mechanisms are based on advanced chip-card technology using encryption/decryption by the DES and RSA algorithms.
The DIDAMES system is completely application- independent and universally applicable. Any DOS/UNIX application system, with or without MS-Windows or X- Windows/MOTIF user interface, can be transparently supported. The system may thus be considered as 'open', with interfaces in compliance with the respective international standards. The final version, having the complete set of this functionality, will be demonstrated in a multi-point configuration on the CeBIT '92 fair in Hannover, supported by p x 64 kbit/s ISDN connections, where 1<=p<=30.
Expected Impact
This project is viewed as an important element in the development of a competitive pan-European electronics industry which makes full use of the community communications infrastructure, also integrating narrowband communications techniques. It will also test the limitation of the existing wide-area networks and the networking capability of the telecommunications systems of several member states.
Fields of science
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10179 Berlin
Germany