I almost forgot. WTEC (World Technology Evalation Center) also has an ongoing study funded by the NSF (National Science Foundation) titled..
Evaluation of Research and Development in
High-Density Memory Devices in Japan
itri.loyola.edu
Background
Since 1989, the World Technology Evaluation Center at Loyola College (previously known as JTEC for studies involving Japan) have been funded by a series of grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Additional support from the Department of Energy, DARPA, the Department of Commerce, the Army Research Office, ONR, USAF, and NASA has been received by interagency transfers to NSF. Panels of experts under the WTEC methodology have assessed Japanese and European R&D in a number of technologies including: superconductivity, advanced computing, X-ray lithography, machine translation, bioprocessing, database systems, display technologies, knowledge-based systems, satellite communications, microelectromechanical systems, electronic packaging, and manufacturing of polymer composites....
Purpose and Scope
The overall purpose of this WTEC study in high-density memory devices is to carry out a detailed assessment of the status of R&D in these technologies in Japan in order to evaluate trends for future competition and cooperation in this area. The study will include a focus on the electronic information storage technologies that find immediate application in computers, but that will increasingly be used in other products such as communications systems and end-user equipment for the National Information Infrastructure.
The scope of study will include a majority of the secondary and tertiary storage technologies listed below. The final selection
will be made by the sponsors at the kickoff meeting in consultation with the experts.
- Hard Disk Drives, particularly production methods
- Data Tape Drives, particularly rotary scan
- Optical Storage, particularly lasers and media
- Magneto-Optical Storage
- Holographic Storage
- New approaches/alternatives to disk drives (e.g., MEMS)
In addition certain primary memory technologies may be included where they overlap the functions of secondary memory. For example non- volatile flash memory devices offer the potential to replace disk storage in some applications such as laptop computers.....
It usually takes about 6-18 months before the progress reports from these studies start to appear on the WTEC web site.
Without a doubt, WTEC studies provide some of the most useful resources for the technology investor. Despite the fact that this is a program funded by U.S. Taxpayers and conducted by mostly U.S. researchers, there is an admirable absence of flag-waving and partisanship. In other words, an extremely useful site and a perfect addition to Pierre-X's web site. |
