Upgrading the Operator-Machine Interface

Abstract

Unit 1 of Pickering NGS- A, Canada's first commercial nuclear power station, entered service in 1971. It features digital computers controlling the nuclear units - the first such commercial application. After approximate l y 55 reactor years and over 100 computer years of operation, Ontario Hydro is undertaking a major upgrade of the Pickering- A control computers. The current IBM 1800 computers will be connected to a distributed system of microcomputers which will take over all the major operator-interface and annunciation functions. The upgrade will provide a modern, integrated, operator-machine interface, plus straightforward system expansion and eventual IBM 1800 replacement.