Seiko Epson joins Alba project in Scotland

Seiko Epson joins Alba project in Scotland
LIVINGSTON, Scotland — Seiko Epson Corp. will locate a design group at the Alba system-on-chip (SoC) design campus in Scotland, making it the third company to commit to opening an office there.

Seiko Epson plans to have about 15 engineers working in a design team here by the end of next year, according to Crawford Beveridge, chief executive officer of Scottish Enterprise, the national development agency, in an address at IP99 Europe held this week in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Beveridge also announced the development of the Alba Associates program. The program is effectively an online newsletter and information service that's intended to allow companies that are not physically located in Scotland to access some of the communal activities within the Alba project as a lead-in to active participation.

The Alba project was launched in December 1997 by Scottish Enterprise and Cadence Design Systems Inc. Cadence (San Jose, Calif.) is the largest occupant of the Livingston campus, which is also intended to house the offices of the Virtual Component Exchange and the Institute of Systems Level Integration (ISLI), an academic body based on graduate programs from four local universities.

So far Micro Linear Corp. and Seiko Epson have agreed to join Cadence at Alba.

"Whilst the Alba Center and the majority of its activities are located physically in Scotland, we want to take a global village approach," said Kevin Clark, director of the Alba Center. "By establishing a wider network of communication and involving more creative minds, Alba can make an even greater contribution as the epicenter both physically and virtually of SoC related achievements."

Activities to be sponsored at the Alba Associates Web site are to include discussion forums, participation in and access to surveys and reports commissioned by the Alba.