Four new AIPS are targeted for the EXPEC Computer in 1983, with more to follow in 1984.
Ahmad al-Bassam, a participant in the Saudi Professional Development Program, operates the keyboard of the Advanced Image Processor located in the EXPEC Building.
From the Sept. 14, 1983 edition of The Arabian Sun.
"The easy oil has already been found."
This rather negative truism applies to the oil-producing nations of the world including Saudi Arabia. To locate hard-to-find oil and gas, Aramco is not only utilizing the most advanced technology available, it is also blazing new trails in the application of sophisticated scientific devices.
A case in point is the Advanced IBM 7350 Image Processing System (AIPS), a high-resolution interactive system for color image data processing and display that can be attached to Aramco's large IBM mainframe computers.
An AIPS prototype unit was installed in the EXPEC Computer Center in November 1982 for a six-month evaluation by Aramco. Aramco personnel, working closely with IBM experts, produced some of the first oil industry-related software for use with this device; so successful was the company's effort that IBM has requested permission to display these programs along with the AIPS in Las Vegas this month at the annual convention of The Society of Exploration Geophysicists.
The AIPS prototype unit delivered to Aramco will be returned to IBM shortly but four new AIPS are targeted for the EXPEC Computer Center this year with more expected to follow in 1984.
— The Arabian Sun: September 14, 2023