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Any examination of  the "Frontiers of Computer Science"  must include
an  identification  of  its socio-economic  effects  and  planning to
insure that  its impacts  will be  favorable to  our  society.   This
should involve  a study of  its impact  on consumers aad  workers, on
levels of employment and unemployment, on changes and obsolencence of
manpower  skills, and  on  both  short  and long  term  security  for
affected work forces.  In short, we must do those things necessary to
assure that  computer  science  serves  people,  rather  than  people
becoming subservient to computer science. 


EXPLORATORY RESEARCH IN INDUSTRIAL MODULAR ASSEMBLY - A STATUS REPORT
(By J.L. Nevins, Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.)

The applied research issues being explored for a new class of systems
for  performing  automatic  mechanical  assembly  described.    These
systems are  organized about  sensor arrays  that measure  the forces
present when two pieces interact during the process of assembly. 

The   research  issues  described  include  methods  for  classifying
mechanical assembly, assembler  system configurations of interest  to
assembly classes,  associated motion regimes  and control strategies,
task analysis,  sensor and  servo  integration, sensor  systems,  and
experiments under way to verify the proposed strategies. 


1975 NATIONAL  COMPUTER CONFERENCE,  PANEL ON  FRONTIERS OF  COMPUTER
SCIENCE,  SUMMARY  OF  PROPOSED  COMMENTS  (By  M.  Eugene  Merchant,
Director of Research Planning, Cincinnati Milacron Inc.,  Cincinnati,
Ohio)

A  recent  international  Delphi-type   forecast  of  the  future  of
manufacturing   strongly   indicates  that   the  computer-integrated
automatic factory  will be  a reality  well  before the  end of  this
century.  However, because of the potential major economic and social
benefits which this development can bring to a country, some  nations
are pushing to accomplish this even earlier  than forcast.  Of these,
Japan has already made the most significant strides in this direction
and is now planning a  national program to have a prototype  unmanned
machine building factory in operation by  about 1980.  This wuld be a
factory  of about 200,000  to 300,000 square feet  floor space, which
instead of the normal work force of 700 to 800, would  be manned by a
force of approximately ten workers.  The development cost is expected
to be in excess  of $100 million,  with approximately one-third  that
sum devoted  to  the development  of the  necessary software  system.
Further details on  these developments will be presented at the panel
session. 



AFIPS  1975  -  FRONTIERS  OF  COMPUTER  SCIENCE,  NATIONAL  COMPUTER
CONFERENCE,  ABSTRACT  OF  REMARKS -  "PROGRAMMABLE  AUTOMATION"  (By
Charles Rosen, AI Center, SRI)

Material-handling,   inspection  and  assembly  processes  are  still
heavily   labor-intensive    in   many   manufacturing    industries.
Furthermore,  many of  these industrial  jobs are  dull, repetitious,
noisy, dangerous, or  otherwise undesirable.   These factors lead  to
high cost  and poor quality  of product, and  to low  productivity of
workers.     Computer-controlled  manipulators  coupled  with  visual
tacticle, and other sensors are now beginning to be programmed in the
laboratory  to perform  many operations  that in  theepast have  been
reserved  for humans,  because they were  too costly  or appeared too
difficult to do in any other way. 

Computer  programs are  now  being  developed, which,  together  with
increasingly   inexpensive  digital   hardware,  will   soon  provide
cost-effective production tools which  will enhance both the  quality
of products and jobs.