CISRA's early projects allowed it to build an ASIC design capability that was second to none in Australia. With the ASIC capability in place, an interaction has emerged between research, core technology and the ASIC development which is very rare in Canon, indeed in any high-tech company.

Researchers working on new algorithms or systems push the boundaries of the possible, knowing that ASIC implementations are available to solve performance bottlenecks. ASIC designers in turn, can call on specialists in algorithms or software development to improve the performance and functionality of their ASIC solutions. This interaction enables CISRA to deliver complex and innovative new systems to Canon as a complete package.

The Star ASIC, first produced in 1997, demonstrated the strength of this collaborative development approach. At the time, Star was by far the largest and most complex ASIC development ever undertaken in Australia. The chip was developed in parallel with printed circuit boards, device drivers and application software to make complete printing systems, the first of which was HyperPhoto.

The first complete HyperPhoto system was demonstrated successfully just three weeks after the first 10 Star chips were manufactured, a systems integration schedule many would have thought impossible.

CISRA ASIC and hardware designers pride themselves on the quality of their work. The team's 14 completed ASICs have all been fully functional in first silicon, an exceptional achievement. Printed circuit boards are designed to be production quality from the start, even when starting life as proof of concept prototypes. This "right first time" approach is critical in getting innovative technology to the market quickly.