Editing MOBIDIC (section)

==History==
In early 1956 the [[Army Signal Corps]] at [[Fort Monmouth]] released a contract tender for the development of a van-mounted mobile computer as part of their Fieldata efforts. Fieldata envisioned a system where any sort of reports would be converted into text format and then sent electronically around an extended battlefield. At the recipient's end, it would be converted into an appropriate output, often on a [[line printer]] or similar device. By automating the process of routing the messages in the middle of the information flow, the Signal Corps was hoping to guarantee delivery and improve responsiveness. Fieldata can be thought of as a general purpose version of the system the [[US Air Force]] was developing in their [[SAGE system]], which did the same task but limited to the field of information about aircraft locations and status.

The heart of Fieldata would be computer systems that would receive, store, prioritize and send the messages. The machines would have to be built using transistors in order to meet the size and power requirements, so in effect, the Army was paying to develop [[Transistor computer|transistorized computers]]. In spite of this, most established players ignored the Army's calls for the small machine. Sylvania's director of development speculated that the Army's terminology in the contract may have hidden the apparent wonderful opportunity. In the end, [[RCA]] and [[Sylvania Electric Products|Sylvania]] entered bids, along with a number of smaller companies with unproven track records. Sylvania's bid was the lower of the "big two", and they won the contract in September 1956.<ref>Sokol, pg. 2</ref>

The first experimental machine, retroactively known as '''MOBIDIC A''',<ref>{{cite journal|title=COMPUTERS AND DATA PROCESSORS, NORTH AMERICA: 13. Sylvania Electric Products, Inc., UDOFT and MOBIDIC, Waltham, Mass.|journal=Digital Computer Newsletter|date=Jan 1958|volume=10|issue=1|pages=9–10|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/AD0694627|language=en}}</ref> was delivered to Fort Monmouth in December 1959. By this time the Army had expressed increasing interest in the concept and had ordered four additional machines and associated software, including a [[COBOL]] compiler.<ref>Sokol, pg. 3</ref> The original contract for the experimental machine was for $1.6 million, but the new developments increased the total to between $20 and $30 million.<ref name=s5>Sokol, pg. 5</ref>

'''MOBIDIC B''' was supplied to the Army's [[Tactical Operations Center]] and featured dual [[CPU]]s for increased reliability.

MOBIDIC A/B weighed about {{convert|12000|lbs|ST MT}}.<ref>Weik, pp. 0651, 0654</ref>

'''MOBIDIC C''' was sent to [[Fort Huachuca]] as a [[software]] testing system. '''MOBIDIC D''' was ordered for the Army Security Agency in Europe, and '''MOBIDIC 7A''' was shipped to the 7th Army Stock Control Center in [[Zweibrücken]], Germany.<ref>{{cite journal|title=RUGGED, MOBILE, DIGITAL COMPUTER OFF TO U. S. 7TH ARMY IN WEST GERMANY|journal=Computers and Automation|date=Feb 1961|volume=10|issue=2B|page=2B|url=http://www.bitsavers.org/magazines/Computers_And_Automation/196102.pdf|access-date=2020-09-05}}</ref> 7A's service entry was delayed due to the failure of the Army-supplied [[tape drive]]s, but Sylvania replaced these with off-the-shelf commercial units and the system went operational in January 1962,<ref name=s4>Sokol, pg. 4</ref> the first off-shore deployment.

MOBIDIC C/D/7A weighed about {{convert|7000|lbs|ST MT}}.<ref>Weik, p. 0657</ref>

The 7A unit was extremely successful in operation, cutting the time needed to order and deliver spare parts dramatically. Although Fieldata was developed for battlefield information, MOBIDIC was just as useful for other sorts of information as well, as the 7A machine demonstrated. It was so successful that the MOBIDIC D was diverted to the Army's 3922nd Ordnance Supply Control Agency in [[Orléans]], France (Maison Fort) to replace the existing [[IBM 305 RAMAC|RAMAC 305]] card system.<ref name=s4/>

By 1962, however, the Army had lost interest in Fieldata and canceled the project. The B machine was no longer needed for Fieldata software development, and in 1965 it was purchased by the [[National Bureau of Standards]] for software development and research.<ref>Abrams</ref> The C, D, and 7A machines were later all moved to [[Karlsruhe]], Germany, where they operated in the supply role for years.<ref name=s4/>

MOBIDIC's success, independent of Fieldata's failure, led to additional Army contracts for the smaller [[AN/APQ-32]] computers, which processed artillery radar data. The basic layout of the MOBIDIC system was also used for the [[AN/ASD-1]] computer used on the [[Boeing RC-135]] [[ELINT]] aircraft, the PARADE and TIDEWATER projects, and its basic circuitry was used extensively in the development of the [[IBM 7090]]{{Dubious |reason="Source does not say the circuitry was used in the 7090. (The 7090's circuitry was transistorized and entirely different.)"|date=April 2020}} for the [[BMEWS]] systems.<ref name=s5/><ref>Sokol, pg. 7</ref>

As Sylvania had hoped, commercial interest in a small, low-cost, robust computer system seemed widespread. MOBIDIC was adapted into the '''Sylvania 9400''' that was marketed towards factory automation systems. Two systems were ordered, one by the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence in the [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]], and another by [[General Telephone]] in California. However, as the costs of trying to compete in the commercial computer market became clear, Sylvania decided to withdraw from the market, and General Telephone canceled their order. Both 9400's were built; General Telephone's intended delivery was used by Sylvania internally.<ref name=s6>Sokol, pg. 6</ref>