Dawn of the Computer

コンピュータの黎明期（Dawn of the Computer）

At Osaka University, research and prototyping of vacuum tube computers started just after the Second World War. The exhibit introduces the vacuum tube computers that had just been newly invented at the time, as well as leading researchers who paved the way for the future.

Osaka University Vacuum Tube Computer

(National Museum of Nature and Science, Essential Historical Material for Science and Technology No. 00014 in 2008, Information Processing Technology Heritage in 2009)

The Jo Research Group (Kenzo Jo, Saburo Makinouchi, Hiroshi Yasui), which succeeded in prototype experiments of the ENIAC decimal arithmetic device, started a full-scale development of an internally-programed, EDSAC-model binary computing system, the end goal for research at the time, after receiving a scientific research grant in 1953. Development lagged due to budget restrictions and lack of manpower, and full completion of the system was halted at the final adjustment stage due to the introduction of domestic transistor-type commercial computers. The development of the Osaka University vacuum pipe computer was one of the first projects of its kind in Japan, and garnered a high level of attention. It played a great role in pioneering future developments of computers.