The 1990 ESPRIT Conferene is being held in Brussels from the 12th November to the 15th November. Well over 1700 participants from all over Europe and overseas are expected to attend the various events. The Conference will offer the opportunity to be updated on the results ofthe ESPRITprojects and Basic Research actions andto develop international contacts with colleagues, both within a specific branch of Information Technology and across different branches. The first three days of the Conference are devoted to presentations of Esprit projects and Basic Research actions structured into plenary and parallel sessions; the scope of the Conference has been broadened this year by the inclusion of several well-known international speakers. All areas of Esprit work are covered: Microelectronics, Information Processing Systems, Office and Business Systems, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, Basic Research and aspects of the Information Exchange System. During the IT Forum on Thursday November 15th, major European industrial and political decision-makers will address the audience in the morning. In the afternoon, a Round Table will discuss the impact of Information Technology on society. More than 100 projects and actions will display their major innovations and achieve ments at the Esprit Exhibition which will be, for the first time, open to the general public.

The Product Data Technology Advisory Group, short PDTAG, was established on 30 September 1992 under the auspices of the ESPRIT CIME Division of the Directorate General XIII of the European Commission. Its goals include promoting European cooperation and improving the European infrastructure in Product Data Technology, particularly in connection with the new standard STEP (ISO 10303). The dissemination of information on Product Data Technology and on European contributions to STEP is of crucial importance to this development. The current volume is the first title in a new PDTAG subseries to Springer Publishers' Research Reports ESPRIT. This new subseries intends to form a comprehensive repository of publications on Product Data Technology resulting from ESPRIT Projects and from European contributions to standardisation based on ISO/STEP. PDTAG welcomes the opportunity to make this information more accessible under the format of a coherent subseries within the established framework of Research Reports ESPRIT. Much valuable background on the new international PDT standard can thus be found in the same collection.

The CIM-Europe provides a focal point for reporting on progress in Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM). CIM practitioners, decision makers and researchers exchange experiences gained in developing and implementing CIM technologies. This work deals with the application of technology innovation to industrial demand.

The 6th ESPRIT Conference is being held in Brussels from the 27th November to the 1 st December 1989. Well over 1500 participants from all over Europe are expected to attend the various events during the week. The Conference will offer the opportunity to be updated on the results of ongoing Esprit projects and to develop Europe-wide contacts with colleagues, both within a specific branch of Information Technology and across different branches. The first three days of the week are devoted to presentations of Esprit I projects, structured into plenary and parallel sessions; this year there is special emphasis on panels and workshops where participants can exchange ideas and hold in-depth discussions on specific topics. The different areas of Esprit work are covered: Microelectronics, Informa tion Processing Systems, Office and Business Systems, Computer Integrated Manufac turing, Basic Research and different aspects of the Information Exchange System. During the IT Forum on Thursday 30th November, major European industrial and political decision-makers will address the audience in the morning. In the afternoon, different aspects of Technology Transfer will be discussed with the participation of outside experts, and presentations on the future plans for community R&D in IT will take place.

Proceedings of the Flexible Automation and Integrated Manufacturing Conference held in Limerick, Ireland, in June 1993

Principal authors: U. Kroszynski, B. Palstr9Sm 1.1 The evolution of concepts and specifications for CAD data exchange The CAD/CAM community has witnessed, during the last decade, the appearance of several specifications as well as proposals for standards which either attempt to cover wider areas or to be more reliable and stable than the others. With the rapid evolution of both hardware and software, the capabilities offered by CAD systems and CAD based application systems are far more advanced than they were only ten years ago, even when they are now based on micro-computers or personal comput ers. The situation with standards, however, is not and cannot be so. In order to be reliable and accepted by a wide community of both vendors and users, a standard has to be sta ble. This implies a life span of at least a decade. This also implies that the standard has to be general and flexible enough to accommodate present as well as expected future developments. 1.1.1 IGES The initial development of concepts for CAD data exchange is strongly influenced by the US Integrated Computer Aided Manufacturing (ICAM) programme, that dealt with the development of methods for data exchange. In September 1979, a subgroup was estab lished with participation of the National Bureau of Standards, the General Electric Com pany, and the Boeing Company. The result of this effort was the Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) that was published as a NBS report [61] in 1980.

Proceedings of the 6th Annual ESPRIT Conference, Brussels, November 27- December 1, 1989