The TMS1000 is a family of microcontrollers introduced by Texas Instruments in 1974.[1][2][3] It combines a 4-bit central processor unit, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), and input/output (I/O) lines as a complete "computer on a chip". It was intended for embedded systems in automobiles, appliances, games, and measurement instruments. It was the first high-volume, general-purpose[4] commercial microcontroller. In 1974, chips in this family could be purchased in volume for around $2 each.[5] By 1979 about 26 million parts in this family were sold every year.[6]
The TMS 1000 is used in Texas Instruments' own Speak & Spell educational toy,[5] the Big Trak programmable toy vehicle and in the electronic game Simon.[7]
- ^ Texas Instruments (2006). "Texas Instruments History 1970's". Archived from the original on 18 January 2006.
1974: Introduces TMS1000 one-chip microcomputer.
- ^ Texas Instruments (2005). "TMS 1000 One-Chip Microcomputers". Archived from the original on 13 February 2005. This is Texas Instruments' original 1974 announcement of the TMS1000 family.
- ^ Siewiorek, Daniel P.; Bell, C. Gordon; Newell, Allen, eds. (1982). "Part 3: Computer Classes, Section 1: Monolithic Microcomputers". Computer Structures: Principles and Examples. McGraw-Hill. p. 583. ISBN 0-07-057302-6. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
The TMS1000 was introduced in 1974 and used in the SR-16 calculator.
- ^ 1974: General-purpose microcontroller family is announced (Computer History Museum)
- ^ a b Zurawski, Richard (2009). Embedded Systems Handbook: Embedded Systems Design and Verification (2nd ed.). CRC Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-1439807637.
- ^ Morton Jr., David L.; Gabriel, Joseph (2007). Electronics: The Life Story of a Technology. JHU Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0801887734.
- ^ Austin, Michael (2016). "Ch. 1". Music Video Games: Performance, Politics, and Play. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1501308505.