The State of the Art of Solid State Memories and Microprocessors

Improvements in cost or performance of an order of magnitude are occurring in the technology available to make small computers. This is occurring both in the processing unit with the microprocessor, and in the memories supporting the processor. As cost/performance is improved, the computer can be dedicated to more mundane tasks, such as carburetor control, while already being used in traffic light control. This development, permitting the use of arbitrarily large amounts of intelligence at low cost makes electronics capable of performing control functions formerly done with mechanical or hydraulic systems.