1355 Association Joins Growing List of Standards-Related Industry Groups to Organize Within the IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization

Piscataway, NJ -- 22 February 2000

The 1355 Association today announced that it has chosen the IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization (IEEE-ISTO) to organize and facilitate its efforts to promote the IEEE 1355-1995 Standard (ISO/IEC 14575) of scalable, heterogeneous interconnect.

IEEE 1355 is an all-purpose interconnect standard that defines a set of lightweight serial protocols for low cost implementation. Networks and other applications built using IEEE 1355 connect a wide range of devices through different network topologies using a selection of compatible protocols. IEEE 1355 connects between chips, boards or boxes, at speeds ranging from 1Mbit/s or less, up to 1Gbit/s or more. IEEE 1355 is designed for short distances, up to a few tens of meters, and has the silicon costs, and simplicity, of a UART.

The IEEE-ISTO and the 1355 Association will work in partnership to further promote the implementation and acceptance of the IEEE 1355 Standard in the marketplace. The Association is run according to defined rules and procedures by a Steering Committee on behalf of its membership. The 1355 Association disseminates knowledge of IEEE 1355, and coordinates the activities of producers, users and research organizations so that the standard can be fully exploited in appropriate markets.

Users of 1355 come from an extremely wide range of applications. Paul Walker, Chair of the 1355 Association said, "The computer industry first used the standard as a serial packet interface between computer chips. The space industry started to use it as a reliable high-speed interface between DSP chips used for image processing, and then found 1355 appropriate for many other uses in the spacecraft. Telecommunications and data communications use 1355 for building scalable, low-cost and low-latency switching fabric. Industrial users see it as ideal for building responsive robots. Others see 1355's low implementation cost, the way the network bandwidth grows as nodes are added, and the networks' tolerance of loops (and inexpert users!), to be ideal characteristics for networks in the home. This breadth, from space to the home, with plenty of niches in between, is unique in the interconnect technology business."

The 1355 Association is currently working in partnership with the European Space Agency's SpaceWire working group to develop a derivative of the IEEE 1355 Standard within the IEEE to meet the space industry's specific needs for high-speed digital serial links of on-board data-handling applications.

Additionally, the 1355 Association is supporting the IEEE Committee's efforts to update and revise the IEEE 1355 Standard to address technology advancements since the standard was first published.

"Our alliance with the 1355 Association further demonstrates the complementary relationship between the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) and the IEEE-ISTO," said Peter Lefkin, IEEE-ISTO secretary treasurer and CFO. "The IEEE 1355 standards development effort will continue within the IEEE-SA, while the marketing, education, interoperability and implementation demonstrations, and peripheral activities in support of the standard, will be sponsored by the 1355 Association within the IEEE-ISTO."

The 1355 Association is open to all interested parties. The 1355 Association has a broad membership, spanning suppliers of IEEE 1355 products and services, OEM users of the IEEE 1355 interconnect, and institutes researching and facilitating the benefits of 1355.

About the IEEE-ISTO

The IEEE-ISTO is affiliated with the IEEE and the IEEE-SA. The IEEE-ISTO is an independent not-for-profit corporation offering standards-related industry groups an innovative and flexible operational legal forum and support services. The IEEE-ISTO facilitates the activities that support the development, implementation and acceptance of standards in the marketplace. In addition to the 1355 Association, the Nexus 5001 Forum, the Medical Device Communications Industry Group, and the Printer Working Group, are currently organized as programs of the IEEE-ISTO.

For further information about the IEEE-ISTO visit http://www.ieee-isto.org or contact Peter Lefkin, IEEE-ISTO secretary treasurer and CFO, at +1 732 981 3434, or ieee-isto@ieee.org.

For further information about the 1355 Association visit http://www.1355.org/ or contact Paul Walker, Chair of the 1355 Association, at +44 1908 566253, or paul@4Links.co.uk.