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Britain’s electronics industry has failed, according to Iann Barron,
one of the founders of Inmos, the British company which invented the transputer
chip. At a conference at the University of Edinburgh next week, he will
tell chip designers from around the world that, despite Britain’s intellectual
resources, its electronics and semiconductor industries are not working.

‘We are not where we should have been, or could have been,’ he says.
‘Compare us with Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan – need I go on?’

Barron’s analysis will go unheard by many. Only half the predicted number
of people will be at the meeting. Of the 50 technical papers to be presented,
only 10 are from Britain, and none is from industry.

The conference, VLSI 91, will be looking at techniques for very large
scale integration (VLSI), the design of densely packed, complex electronic
chips. The poor attendance is blamed on the recession. ‘This reflects the
downturn in the industry. The previous conference had twice as many delegates,’
says David Rees, of the organising committee.

Alan Cartwright of VLSI Technology in Milton Keynes says Barron’s statement
is rather strong. ‘There are some bright spots in Britain, such as telephony,’
he says.