All the World's a Computer

by Yoshiko Hara EE Times, 22 Aug 2005 Ken Sakamura has been talking pervasive computing since before the term was invented. The University of Tokyo professor, easily the most famous computer architect in Japan, first proposed the idea of networked, ubiquitous computing back in 1984, when he devised the open architecture known as TRON (The Real-time Operating System Nucleus). Since then, Sakamura has led the TRON project and several spin-offs in developing core technologies for an environment in which every object incorporates a computer and is linked to a network. His latest invention is the Micro Ubiquitous Communicator, a personal identification device the size of a matchbox that works as a door key, electronic money and PC authentication. Read more