Page 175 - Anatomy of a Robot

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160 CHAPTER SEVEN
PRIORITIES
Put energy control first. To successfully conform to energy control requirements, it is
almost always necessary to put this issue in the forefront. If energy control ever becomes
an afterthought, it just won’t get done right at all. Many decisions are made along the
way that could preclude retrofitting a control system with energy control at a later date.

LEADERSHIP

Keep one experienced person (the “energy czar”) in charge. As we mentioned in a dif-
ferent chapter, the project must have one single person in charge of energy management.
Ideally, it should be the person who best understands the energy control capabilities
built into the processor chip. The key word here is experienced. Although I deplore the
tendency of firms to exclude good engineers who just don’t have direct experience in
the technology of interest, this case does require such an approach. Energy control in a
portable computer system (like in a robot) is a very complex task, one requiring an
experienced hand. If multiple engineers are involved, they must also be coordinated by
this one experienced person.

PLANNING

Energy control will only succeed if the specifications are crafted with its specific goals
and requirements in mind from the very start. The energy czar should be in on all the
early architectural, specification, and planning meetings.

BE CONSERVATIVE

Don’t underestimate the effort. The czar will have software to write and tests to perform
all the way through the project. It’s a risky portion of the project and difficult to finish.
It’s also not unusual for difficulties to crop up late in the project. Even perfectly work-
ing software may suddenly fail (increasing the energy draw) for unapparent reasons.
Have patience and expect to work hard on this portion of the project. Test and retest the
energy draw with each new engineering change.

TECHNOLOGY SELECTION
Go with existing processor power saving technology. Complete control of energy in a
computer system generally requires the proper choice of processor. Some processors