From: Mike Bevan <mike@vrnews.demon.co.uk>
Subject: CONF: Global Virtual Manufacturing '97
Date: Tue, 7 Jan 1997 21:24:32 +0000


Just a brief note to let everyone know about this event, the first of
its kind in the world. GVM97 is a major international conference and
trade show, taking place in Detroit, March 19-20. It's jointly
organised by VR NEWS and EDS, with sponsorship from Silicon Graphics
and The Engineering Society of Detroit.

To quote (briefly) from the brochure . . .

"The term 'Virtual Manufacturing' first came into prominence in the
early 1990s as a result of the US Department of Defense Virtual
Manufacturing Initiative. Both the concept and the term have now
gained wide international acceptance, and have somewhat broadened in
scope.

In summary, Virtual Manufacturing refers to the use of virtual reality
and related technologies to simulate the prototyping and manufacture
of a proposed product before a commitment is made to its physical
production.

Global Virtual Manufacturing extends this definition to include - and
emphasize - the use of Internet/Intranet global communications
networks for virtual component sourcing, and multi-site
multi-organization virtual collaborative design and testing
environments".

The event comprises a one-day conference, a day of workshops, and an
accompanying two-day trade show. The conference includes presentations
on the state of play in virtual manufacturing in Japan/Asia, Europe
and the USA, based on new market research being undertaken
specifically for GVM97.  The workshops cover a representative
selection of the major US governmental, academic and industrial
research programs in the virtual manufacturing field. The trade show
will feature the leading manufacturers and service providers active in
the fast-developing virtual manufacturing marketplace.

Details and registration options can be found at www.vrnews.com/gvm97.html

Let me know if you have any queries.

Mike Bevan
Editor - VR NEWS
mike@vrnews.demon.co.uk