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COMPUTER HARDWARE 75
cult terrain. The designers may choose to build a couple of different drive trains
and test them out before proceeding with the rest of the project. If a project has
few risks, the final cost is likely to be lower. If the risk items become real prob-
lems, schedules often slip and costs run up.
The decision to use computer hardware in the robot design can decrease the cost of the
project in various ways. The following section illustrates a few ways to make this a reality.

Leverage Existing Technology

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Sir Isaac Newton (Figure 3-2), cited in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations

Civilization advances on the strength of its history and knowledge. Humans are unique
in that we store information outside our brains, in libaries and computers. The accu-
mulated work of others can be brought to bare to solve our problems. In the case of com-
puters, engineers have made their work available in the form of archived software and
printed circuit hardware. Each can be rapidly and inexpensively reproduced for our use.
Computer hardware is available in various forms. We can purchase complete com-
puters at stores, but these tend to be too bulky to fit into a robot. We can purchase

FIGURE 3-2 Sir Isaac Newton