r&d
The TRON Project, 1995
One of the most talked-about Japanese research initiatives of the late
1980s, the TRON Project has received relatively little media attention in
recent years. This has led many to believe the project is no longer being
actively pursued, but that is far from the truth. In November, Computing
Japan visited Professor Ken Sakamura, the leader of the project, at his
lab in the University of Tokyo to talk about the current state of the TRON
Project.
by Steven Myers
Tron (the Real-Time Operating-System Nucleus) is a large-scale, long-term
effort aimed at creating a completely new, all-encompassing computer architecture
for the "computerized society" of the future -- one in which all
tools, appliances, and other objects are interconnected by computer networks.
The main focus of the project is to provide a real-time environment for
the large number of distributed computers embedded in these "intelligent
objects." This type of environment is referred to by the TRON developers
as a highly functionally distributed system (HFDS).
The TRON project was initiated in 1984 by Professor Ken Sakamura of the
University of Tokyo, and it is funded entirely by an industrial consortium
called the TRON Association. The project generated a fair amount of controversy
in its early years. It was perceived by many computer professionals in the
US to represent an attempt at implementing unique Japanese standards that
could become worldwide industry standards if adopted by the large Japanese
electronics companies. Many TRON supporters, on the other hand, felt that
their efforts were being misconstrued in the English-language press, leading
to more misunderstanding.
For whatever reason, it seems that a variety of factors unrelated to the
technical merits of the project have contributed to resistance outside of
Japan. The purpose of this article is not to judge the motives or social
significance of the effort, but rather to simply introduce the basic conceptual
and technical content of the TRON project and provide an update on its progress.
The TRON subprojects
From the beginning, the TRON project has included five fundamental subprojects,
each of which focuses on one component of the entire HFDS picture. These
subprojects include CHIP (TRON-specification VLSI microprocessor architecture),
ITRON (real-time operating system specifications for embedded systems),
BTRON (an architecture for PCs and workstations), CTRON (interface specifications
for communications systems), and MTRON (network operating system architecture
to handle interconnection and control of the above systems). A sixth subproject,
called "TRON Electronic Equipment HMI," has also been undertaken
with the goal of formulating the TRON Human-Machine Interface specifications.
Four of these projects -- CHIP, ITRON, BTRON, and CTRON-- have been highly
developed. Each of these subprojects has already produced both detailed
specifications and products. MTRON is still in the basic research stage,
but it is becoming more active now that some of the necessary components
from the other subprojects are available.
ITRON (Industrial TRON) is a specification for a real-time,
embedded-system operating system for use in a wide range of applications,
ranging from robotics and automotive systems to consumer products such as
VCRs. The actual implementation of ITRON specifications is carried out independently
on each type of processor, and many of Japan's semiconductor manufacturers
have implemented these specifications for a variety of chips appearing in
all types of commercial products.
The BTRON (Business TRON) subproject is aimed at exploring
human-machine interaction and the incorporation of the HMI (human-machine
interface) into the operating system (OS) specification and hardware design
of personal computers and workstations. So far, three sets of formal BTRON
specifications have been developed, each intended for a different class
of hardware. These specifications are BTRON1, designed for a 16-bit CPU
and relatively small-scale hardware; BTRON2, meant for 32-bit CPUs and more
powerful hardware; and BTRON3, designed to support a loosely coupled distributed
environment. Several OSes conforming to the BTRON specifications have been
implemented -- most notably by Matsushita Electric and Personal Media --
and in 1994, a BTRON1-specification OS capable of running on DOS/V computers
appeared on the market.
The CTRON (Central/Communication TRON) operating system interfaces
are geared specifically toward switching and advanced telecommunication
networks. Recently, special emphasis has been placed on the application
of CTRON to multimedia communication services, investigating the real-time
exchange of image and sound data over networks.
The figure on page 14 shows how the different TRON subprojects are integrated
to form the entire HFDS. As shown in the diagram, the CHIP (TRON VLSI) CPU
is ideally suited and optimized for running ITRON-based embedded system
OSes and BTRON PC/workstation OSes. It is important to note, however, that
this is not required; virtually any part of the TRON architecture is capable
of interacting with existing architectures.
The Sakamura lab
The visionary and driving force behind the TRON project is Professor Ken
Sakamura of the University of Tokyo, an engaging and energetic computer
scientist/architect who has managed to attract huge support for TRON from
Japanese industry and academia. Computing Japan visited Professor
Sakamura at his University of Tokyo lab in mid-November, one week before
the Twelfth TRON Project International Symposium was scheduled to begin
in Tokyo.
He began by presenting a basic introduction to the project and some of the
"application subprojects" designed to test actual HFDS implementations
in order to find and break down potential problems in the TRON architecture.
The best known of these application subprojects is the TRON-concept Intelligent
House, which incorporates over 1,000 TRON-based computer systems. Located
in Tokyo's Nishi-Azabu district, the house was used for three years of experiments,
ending in 1992. Currently, design work is nearing completion on the TRON-concept
Intelligent Building, with construction scheduled to begin soon.
Prof. Sakamura spoke strongly of the need to move away from the "desktop
PC" computing paradigm -- with its screen and keyboard interface --
to other, more natural interaction methods. This, he says, is the essential
idea behind TRON: to create an environment for ubiquitous computers that
is natural and unobtrusive for the users. The sharp increase in PDA (personal
digital assistant) use over the past year is a step in this direction, says
Sakamura, but considering the current media hype and flashy marketing techniques
surrounding desktop PCs in Japan, he acknowledges that traditional desktop
computers could remain popular for a while.
TRON is quietly but effectively making its way into industry products. According
to Sakamura, there are millions of copies of OSes based on ITRON specifications
in use, and countless electronics products now incorporate TRON-based processors.
Sakamura points out that because TRON is basically about creating standards,
and much of the resulting technology is imbedded within commercial products,
the technology has made its spread without much of the media fanfare that
is currently being lavished on PC systems and software.
There has not been much written about TRON in either the Japanese or foreign
press in recent years, leading many to believe that the project has diminished
in scope and significance. Not so, says Sakamura, pointing once again to
the fact that, while other factors were involved, current media focus has
shifted to multimedia and the Internet. In reality, he says, the TRON project
continues to gain momentum as internal components based on TRON specifications
quietly gain widespread acceptance in Japanese products and systems.
Alive and well
Media reports to the contrary, not only is the TRON project still alive,
it is flourishing. This year's TRON conference promises to be one of the
largest ever, with the majority of the papers focusing on actual implementation
issues.
The TRON subprojects have produced a wealth of hard, practical technology,
the elements of which are appearing with ever-increasing frequency in commercial
products. Simply put, among scientists, researchers, and technologists with
an interest in computing standards and architectures, the TRON project deserves
serious attention.ç
(c) Copyright 1996 by Computing Japan magazine