Panafacom

Panafacom (currently PFU) was a conglomerate of the Japanese companies—formed by Fujitsu, Fuji Electric and the Matsushita Group on July 2, 1973. They developed one of the first commercially available 16-bit microprocessors, the MN1610. Released in 1975, it was "the world's first 16-bit microcomputer on a single chip" according to Fujitsu.

The PANAFACOM Lkit-16 was a learning kit released in March 1977 to popularize the first 16-bit single-chip microcomputer. The microcomputer was equipped with the first 16-bit parallel high-performance single-chip processor (*1), developed by PANAFACOM in 1975.

This processor provided better cost performance than conventional 8-bit microcomputers with its enhanced speed (about 200%) and reduced memory usage (about 60%). The unique features of the Lkit-16 were: (1) a simplified keyboard for assembler input, (2) console functions that allowed easy debugging, and (3) a built-in audio cassette interface for data I/O. Through a simplified program input by a one-step assembler and implementation of Tiny BASIC that was popular among microcomputer users at that time, the Lkit-16 greatly contributed to the expansion of computer knowledge from would-be engineers to amateur users who were interested in microcomputers. Main unit price was \98,000.Main specifications:- CPU: MN1610 (clock rate of 2 MHz, 16-bit parallel processing)- ROM: 1KW (maximum 2KW)- RAM: 0.5KW (maximum 1KW)- I/O port: MN1630- Other specifications: Equipped with an audio cassette interface*1

This processor was developed by PANAFACOM in 1975, around the same time that the 16-bit single-chip type processor was first introduced to the world.