Electronic Recording Machine, Accounting
ERMA was a computer technology that automated bank bookkeeping and check processing. Developed at the nonprofit research institution SRI International under contract from Bank of America, the project began in 1950 and was publicly revealed in September 1955.
The ERMA logo
The ERMA team from SRI International
An early check, demonstrating the features developed by SRI: account numbers and Magnetic Ink Character Recognition.
The wiring in an ERMA machine
SRI International (SRI) is an American nonprofit scientific research institute and organization headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The trustees of Stanford University established SRI in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic development in the region.
Entrance to SRI International headquarters in Menlo Park
SRI participant Paul Magill discussing the smog on Black Friday in Los Angeles at the first National Air Pollution Symposium in 1949
The ERMA system, which uses magnetic ink character recognition to process checks, was one of SRI's earliest developments.
The first prototype of a computer mouse, as designed by Bill English