September 1999
May the Micro Force Be With You
After a decade of hype, microscopic mechanical systems are poised to make major changes in the size of our cell phones, the reliability of our communications systems-even the way "Star Wars" is shown.
By Ivan Amato
Last December, a team of managers, scientists, and technicians from Texas Instruments (TI) trekked from their corporate research labs in Dallas to a meeting at George Lucas' sprawling ranch in the hills west of San Rafael, Calif. Lucas was present. So was Rick McCallum, producer of "Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace," then still half a year from opening day. The movie moguls had summoned the TI staffers to audition a digital projector, built by the company, that could change how movies are shown, replacing Hollywood's beloved canisters of film with semiconductor chips.
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