Plessey Semiconductors, currently planned to be wholly-owned by GEC Plc after an interregnum under the GEC Siemens Plc banner, is claiming a breakthrough with what it describes as the world’s first intelligent, user-customisable remote-programmable integrated circuit. The Plessey chip can be programmed so that it intelligently and independently changes its own wiring, enabling it to correct any problems and adapt to new circumstances. A remote personal computer can also rewire the chip, which, notes Plessey, makes it just the thing for satellite applications – and others where the chip becomes inaccessible. Plessey also reckons that costs are low enough that it could wind up being used in vending machines – in both cases, repairs can be made without picking up a screwdriver. Plessey calls the new devices electrically reconfigurable arrays, and says they differ from the field programmable gate arrays that are one of the hottest chip properties right now in that once in use, they can be rewired in less than a thousandth of a second – while the chip is still operating. Plessey says it intends to be the first vendor to ship field-programm able gate arrays with equivalent gate counts of up 100,000. No price or availability details were given.
