The USB (Universal Serial
Bus) is as relevant today as it was when the 12 millimeter by 4.5
millimeter ports and cables first started appearing back in the late
1990s, providing users with a discreet and straightforward way of
transferring data between a range of digital devices.
Today, more than 10
billion USB devices are believed to be in use around the world -- a
statistic that has secured its co-inventor, Ajay Bhatt,
a permanent place in computing's unofficial hall of fame.
"I was totally surprised
by how it has impacted everybody. I mean, my name became a common name
-- at least at schools and in technical communities," Bhatt said.
The engineer's high
standing in computing circles was famously celebrated in a 2009
advertising campaign by his employers, Intel, where an actor portraying Bhatt strutted
into a lab full of starstruck co-workers.
"I truly get a rock star
treatment and that is quite unusual to me -- people asking for your
signature, people asking for your picture."
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His journey to digital
immortality began in the early 1990s amid the growing tangle of chunky
cables and portals which linked the separate devices on PCs and laptops.
One cable would talk to
the keyboard, Bhatt recalls, while another would connect a modem. A
different cable enabled printing, with another linking the hard drive to
the monitor.
"It was more difficult
than it needed to be," he says.
"You were looking at two
devices with connecting wires and you wanted things to happen but the
rules weren't that simple. It was very difficult for the average person
to use it. All the technology at that point was developed for
technologists by technologists."
He set about creating a
single connection for computers across the entire industry. For six
years he lobbied colleagues at Intel and then at other computer firms,
urging everyone to jump on the bus.
"Initially, it was
difficult for them to understand the merits. We had a big tent and we
included everybody, we listened to everybody's input and tried to
address them to the best of our abilities and that's why USB is
successful," Bhatt said.
It was all easier said
than done, he says, requiring a radical change in the industry's
eco-system.
"In order to be
successful in anything like this you have to look at the problem from
their perspective. So, if I went to, say, Compaq -- which is now (owned
by) Hewlett-Packard -- we used to think about their issues and what
problems they faced," he said.
USB was good because it
addressed some of the customer satisfaction issues while also helping
computer hardware manufacturers to save money.
Bhatt's own commercial
expectations for his invention were initially quite modest.
"I thought this was a
(one off) $40 million opportunity," he says. "I couldn't imagine where
USB has gone or where it will continue to go. This has exceeded the
wildest of my imaginations."
A lot of people told you that this couldn't be done and then you go
to the store or talk to users. They'll all delighted by the USB, how
easy it is.
Ajay Bhatt, Intel engineer
Ajay Bhatt, Intel engineer
The first model (USB 1)
arrived on the market in the late 1990s and was an instant hit. Later
versions -- USB 2.0 released 2000 and USB 3.0 which debuted in 2008 --
have vastly improved data transfer speeds.
"USB 3.0 is 400 times
faster (than our original USB) and as we go forward I see USB going to
816 times faster," Bhatt says.
"It's evolving. The
great part of USB is that the first device that you bought can still
work with computers today, and hopefully it will work with computers in
the future."
Today, around two
billion USB's are shipped every year, with millions being sold every
day.
But the project has
never been about the money, says the 56-year-old.
"Somebody interviewed me
once and they said, I don't know, I don't know, if I made a penny per
USB point and Intel made a penny per USB point then we would have made a
lot of money," he says.
"I think what we did was
we created an open standard that everybody can benefit. What I am happy
to see is that everybody participates in this eco-system and they are
all making money."
The real bottom line for
Bhatt though has been an enduring sense of worth in his own personal
capital.
"I think for any
engineer to see your ideas, your visions on a shelf on a store is an
incredible feeling -- you know, because you created something, you
imagined something," he says.
"A lot of people told
you that this couldn't be done and then you go to the store or talk to
users. They'll all delighted by the USB, how easy it is. It makes you
feel good."
