The MECRA: A Self-Reconfigurable Computer for Highly Reliable Process

A self-reconfigurable and fault-tolerant computer has been realized in Electronique Marcel Dassault Laboratories in France. It is a microprogrammed character-coded computer using a READ-WRITE microprogram memory. A special Hamming code is used for character encoding. The arithmetic operators are table operators mounted in a duplex scheme. Logical operators use gate connector redudancy. Counters and registers use random redundancy, i.e., any spare part, selected in a waiting list, can replace any failed part having the same function. These different parts of the computer, their design criteria, and the computer architecture are described in detail. The computer needs about three times more components than a conventional computer.