No Science Fiction fantasy, this Design Machine could be built with the computers and automatic control techniques available today. Dr Price, who designed the Designer, estimates that it would be able to create in a matter of seconds pictures of machine parts that now take a draftsman many hours to draw. And, as it drew a picture, the Machine would simultaneously create a mathematical model of the part in its internal memory."

Price published "How to Speed Up Invention" in Fortune magazine. In the age of punched cards and Teletypes, the article described in detail a hypothetical "design machine," which would feature a graphic display, a cursor like light pen, and a mouselike device to rotate, shrink, and enlarge shapes.

In November 1956, George R. Price, a research associate at the University of Minnesota, had published an article about engineering design titled "How To Speed Up Invention" (see below) On the basis of some of Price's thoughts about design and the rapidly evolving technologies of digital computers and numerical control machine tools, there developed the concept of a computer system for vehicle design. The problem to be addressed was the design of a vehicle's exterior surface geometry together with all the interior components that make up the chassis and body. These objectives did not include the design of engines, transmissions, or other mechanical subassemblies.

Related Paper:

G.R. Price, "How To Speed Up Invention," Fortune, Nov. 1956, pp. 150-228. Inside: (Computer system for vehicle design).