Instrumentation II: The microprocessors jack-of-all-trades: It's used for calibration, control, computation, conversion, decision-making, test, and maintenance

William G. Smith, an engineering manager at Hewlett-Packard, Loveland, Colo., says he can't think of one new instrument design in his shop that doesn't include a microprocessor. His civil engineering equipment group was among the first to start imbedding chip-sized computers in instruments. But, his experience is no longer an unusual one, for many new instruments built around microprocessors are beginning to appear on the marketplace. Engineers familiar with products now on the drawing boards seem to agree that the next two years will see a great outpouring of new, microprocessor-based instruments.