AES-90 Word Processor Preservation Project
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 equipment was still dominated by various types of typewriters, ranging from purely mechanical to electric models, including those with digital storage for recording typed text, such as the best-selling IBM MT/ST (Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter), which recorded edited documents on magnetic tape. These devices lacked displays and offered only limited word-processing functionality. None of them could be upgraded to newer versions; 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 the early 1970s, when several companies introduced dedicated text-editing equipment with displays for on-screen document editing and external storage. Automatic Electronic Systems (AES) of Montreal was one of such companies, releasing its AES-90 Word Processor in 1973.
The AES-90 was a standalone system that featured a CRT display, a keyboard, and two 8-inch floppy disk drives connected to a central processor. It 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.
Several unique features of the AES-90 set new worldwide trends in the design of cost-effective text editing equipment. The most important of these was the AES-90 architecture and its software upgradability. Unlike the “hard-wired” solutions used in other early on-screen text-editing systems, the AES-90 processor was built around a general-purpose minicomputer (the AES-90C) running dedicated text-editing software. This design allowed for software updates, bug fixes, and adaptation to changing requirements without the need to purchase a new processor and discard the outdated one. For this reason, the ACS-90 was promoted as a programmable word processor and “a giant step into a new era of cost-effective written communication.” Within a few years, the office equipment market was flooded with similar video-screen text-editing products from companies worldwide revolutionizing office operations.
Although the AES-90 was a trend-setting processor successfully sold across North America, only a few, possibly just the two complete systems currently in the possession of Ingenium 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.
Project milestones
- Recovery and preservation of systems software, character set generator, and systems messages — completed.
- Reverse engineering and documenting the AES-90 printed circuit boards ( Address, CPU, ROM, Disk Interface, QUME Interface, RAM, Register, Timing, Video) — in progress.
- Recreation of the AES-80C instruction set and writing the AES-80C assembler — to commence in mid-2026.
- Documenting the AES-90 hardware and software — to commence in late 2026.
- Creation of the AES-90 emulator — to commence in late 2026.
- Creation of the AES-90 Users Manual — to commence in late 2026.
Technical information needed
The lack of the AES-90 and the AES-80C technical documentation and user manuals makes the AES-90 reconstruction project complex and time-consuming. Contribution of any technical/user information regarding the AES-90 and its AES-80C computer would be greatly appreciated.