AES-90 software recovery and emulation
In June 2024, the York University Computer Museum (YUCoM) and the Canada Science and Technology Museum (Ingenium) initiated a collaborative project to preserve a trend-setting Canadian computer system from the past — the AES-90 programmable word processor.
In the 1960s, office document writing was still dominated by various types of typewriters, ranging from purely mechanical to electric, including those with internal memory for storing typed text. There were also rudimentary visual display word processors with limited editing functionality. None of these devices could be upgraded to a newer version; they could only be replaced with more advanced models as they became available.
The front cover of the AES-90 CRT text editor promotional brochure.
It all changed in 1972 when Montreal-based company Automatic Electronic Systems Inc. (AES) introduced its AES-90 programmable text editor (or word processor). This standalone system consisted of a display and a keyboard connected to a central processor with a built-in floppy disk drive for document storage and retrieval (approximately 100 pages of text per floppy disk). The AES-90 offered a rich set of word processing functions for on-screen editing, such as page layout adjustment and justification, text insertion, deletion, movement, and more, eliminating the need for retyping in case of errors and editorial changes. Most importantly, it could be easily reprogrammed for enhanced and expanded functionality, eliminating the need to replace the entire system whenever new text editing features became available. This is why the AES-90 was advertised as a programmable word processor and “a giant step into a new era of cost-effective written communication.”
The AES-90 set the trend for designing cost-effective text processing equipment, with its solutions quickly adopted by competitors, including IBM, the largest supplier of word processing equipment. Although the AES-90 was successfully sold across North America, only a few, possibly just the two complete systems currently in the possession of Ingenium—Canada's largest science and technology museum—have survived. Unfortunately, the fragile state of these over-50-year-old machines, along with the lack of technical and visual material demonstrating the functionality and operation of this historically significant word processor, prevents historians from researching it and the general audience from appreciating the engineering ingenuity that went into the design of the AES-90.
But not all is lost. YUCoM and Ingenium have embarked on a collaborative project to bring the AES-90 to life. The project is focused on reconstructing the system's design as well as recovering and preserving its text editing and system software. If successful, the reconstructed technical information and recovered software will be used to develop an emulator, a computer program that simulates the operations of the AES-90 on a modern computer with a high degree of historical accuracy. This emulator will provide researchers with non-invasive access to the AES-90 and showcase the device to museum audiences in an engaging and interactive way. In the project, Ingenium makes two AES-90 units available for research, software recovery, and preservation, while YUCoM provides the necessary technical expertise for the recovery of technical information and software, as well as for the design and implementation of an AES-90 emulator.
The AES-90 project, undertaken by YUCoM and Ingenium, represents a significant step towards establishing a network of Canadian institutions dedicated to sharing knowledge and expertise for the preservation and study of Canada's contributions to modern computing and other digital technologies.